Issue 7

THE AMHERST

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF AMHERST COLLEGE SINCE 1868

STUDENT VOLUME CXLVII, ISSUE 7 l WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2017

Men’s Soccer Sweeps Homecoming Weekend Doubleheader See Sports, Page 10 AMHERSTSTUDENT.AMHERST.EDU

Suzanne Coffey Announces Retirement Emily Young ’20 Staff Writer

Photo courtesy of Faith Wen ’20

Climate Camp events took place on the Quad from Oct. 11-13 in support of divesting Amherst’s endowment from fossil fuels and private prisons.

DACC Hosts Three-Day ‘Climate Camp’ Kathleen Maeder ’20 Staff Writer Direct Action Coordinating Committee (DACC), a student-run group that aims to promote student rights and social justice on campus, hosted a three-day event called Climate Camp on Oct. 11-13. The event, intended to raise campus-wide awareness and support for divestment of the college’s endowment from fossil fuels and indirect investments in private prisons, took place as a camp-out on the First-Year Quad.

The event is part of DACC’s ongoing push for the college’s divestment from sources the group deems problematic, namely investments linked to fossil fuels or private prisons. On the event’s Facebook page, organizers wrote that “DACC believes that the word ‘climate’ does not only have an ecological meaning. ‘Climate’ is also the climate of racialized violence … and the climate of our campus.”

The event began with opening remarks and a debate between representatives from the Amherst College Democrats, Amherst College Republicans and DACC. Their dialogue focused on the merits

of a divestment-focused strategy for the college, international environmental agreements and other questions raised by climate change.

DACC encouraged students to participate in “fossil fuel-free fun” on Thursday afternoon, hosting a group bicycle ride to a permaculture garden at UMass Amherst and a community soccer game. Later that evening, DACC held a divestment teach-in, where organizers led a discussion on the impacts of the college’s investment in the fossil fuel and private prison industries.

DACC member Crystal Ganatra ’19 guided the discussion, which covered the history of the private prison industry and its connections to the fossil fuel industry before moving to a discussion of the college. Amherst “puts their money in a thing that is destroying the planet and also receives money from companies that profit from putting people in prisons, while also making the link that these communities that are affected [by the private prison industry] are the same communities that are affected by the fossil fuel industry,” particularly people of color, Ganatra said.

This teach-in was followed by a rally outside of a Board of Trustees meeting, during which a

student-led pro-divestment petition was presented.

President Biddy Martin has denied claims that the college’s endowment is directly invested in private prisons after demands for divestment were raised during a student protest on Nov. 16, 2016.

More recently, Chief Investment Officer Mauricia Geissler also said that the college was not invested in private prisons, responding to an opinion piece published in The Student. Contributor Bryan Doniger ’18 later retracted the claim but added that the college invests in companies with holdings in the private prison industry.

On the final day, DACC held a panel showcasing local environmental activists, including divestment leaders from other Five College institutions and Climate Action Now, a grassroots organization based in Western Massachusetts. Esperanza Chairez ’19, a member of DACC who assisted in organizing Climate Camp, said that they planned the panel so that Amherst students could learn from the experiences of “other people who have done this a lot longer than us.” Later that night, the three-day event culminated in an open-mic Coffee

Continued on Page 3

After 35 years in higher education, 12 of which she spent at Amherst College, Chief Student Affairs Officer Suzanne Coffey will retire at the end of this year. President Biddy Martin announced her retirement and the start of the search for a replacement in an email to the college community on Oct. 17. The college aims to secure a new chief student affairs officer by July 1, 2018, according to Dean of the Faculty Catherine Epstein.

According to Martin, Coffey first came to Amherst as the athletic director, a position she held from 2006 to 2014. In 2012, she became the campus Title IX leader, and transitioned into the role of chief student affairs officer — the first person in this position — in 2014.

Martin promoted Coffey to her current position, intending for it to be a two-year commitment. Working to improve student life, Coffey went “far above and beyond what I hoped she might achieve in the two-year stint I asked her to accept,” Martin wrote.

Coffey focused on residential life and helped develop the new Greenway dormitories, designed to encourage social interaction and enhance students’ shared sense of responsibility for living spaces, well-being and campus experience, Martin said. Coffey’s work with the residential halls is one of the many ways she sought to improve the sense of community on campus.

The search for a replacement is co-chaired

by Dean of Faculty Catherine Epstein and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Norm Jones. The college has hired recruiting firm Isaacson, Miller to assist in the process, and the firm will work alongside the search committee once the college has finalized its members, which will include seven faculty members, one professor and three students.

The search committee and Isaacson, Miller will meet independently with different constituencies, according to Epstein. The two groups will meet to discuss what the community is looking for in a replacement, and the search firm will assemble potential candidates.

Continued on Page 3

Alum Wins Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine Sylvia Frank ’20 Staff Writer Jeffrey C. Hall ’67 received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Oct. 2 along with two other scientists, Michael Rosbash and Michael Young, for their discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm.

“The paradigm-shifting discoveries by the laureates established key mechanistic principles for the biological clock,” wrote the Nobel Prize committee in a press release. As a result of the work by Hall’s team, “circadian biology has developed into a vast and highly dynamic research field.”

Hall began his research by studying genetics using a fruit fly model. The Nobel laureates isolated the period (per) gene in 1984. Although the idea of a gene influencing circadian rhythms was not novel, they were the first to find the gene and research its functionality within the cell.

The laureates discovered that the per gene

produces a protein, PER, that builds up in the cell during the night but degrades during the day using a feedback inhibition loop by which the protein would reduce the expression of the gene from which it came. Such expression and inhibition continues in a regular, cyclical fashion.

PER is responsible for regulating circadian rhythms, which, in turn, regulate sleep cycles, metabolism, behavior, body temperature and hormone patterns. Eventually, researchers were able to broaden their findings to encompass more complex organisms such as humans, animals and plants.

The laureates’ research falls under the umbrella of “basic science research” — research that fills in gaps of scientific information and provides the foundation of knowledge for applied sciences.

Basic science research stands in contrast to applied research — such as medical and pharmaceutical research — which focuses on fixing a problem that has direct applications. “It’s just one of a zillion examples of how basic research on a

supposedly irrelevant organism can have broader significance,” said Hall in an interview with Chief Scientific Officer of Nobel Media Adam Smith.

Hall often talks about his philosophy of “loving the little flies,” which he says is the foundation of his attitude toward his research and the reason he has found success. This attitude was inspired Philip Ives ’32, a researcher and Hall’s mentor when he was a student at Amherst.

When he first came to Amherst, Hall planned to go into medicine, but quickly developed a passion for biology and fruit fly research with Ives.

“Jeff Hall performed his senior honors thesis research using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism to understand basic genetic mechanisms, and he continued to work on Drosophila for his entire career,” said Professor of Biology Alexandra Purdy in an email interview. “So, getting involved with research as an undergraduate can have a real impact.”

Associate Professor of Mathematics Tanya Leise lauded Hall as instrumental to her research

— Leise’s collaborations with neuroscientists studying the circadian clock have aimed to link behavioral circadian rhythms with their underlying genetic basis. Their research includes studying per gene expression in mammals. “[Hall and the other laureates] set the stage for this work by identifying the first known circadian clock gene,” Leise said. “The circadian field has rapidly advanced following their groundbreaking discovery, and it’s been amazing to be a part of this vibrant scientific community.”

Hall is “a brilliant and restless scientist, who envisioned problems in development through the clear lens of genetics,” Gerald Fink ’62, former director of MIT’s Whitehead Institute and genetics researcher, said on the Amherst website, which published a statement congratulating Hall.

Hall is now retired, but taught as biology professor at Brandeis University for most of his career after receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Washington in Seattle. He was not available for comment.

News

Eleonora Mattiacci Fresh Faculty

Oct. 10, 2017 - Oct. 23, 2017

>>Oct. 10, 2017 9:14 a.m., Off-Campus Locations Officers assisted the town police in searching for a missing juvenile. >>Oct. 11, 2017 8:03 a.m., Lincoln House Officers and the Fire Department responded to an alarm and found it was caused by steam from a shower. >>Oct. 12, 2017 12:30 p.m., Converse Hall An employee reported the theft of a cell phone from a restroom.

It was found later in a different location. >>Oct. 13, 2017 9:32 p..m, Cohan Dormitory An officer located a small unauthorized party with alcohol.

It was shut down.

10:58 p.m., Marsh House Officers investigated a tamper signal from a smoke detector in a third-floor room. A resident claimed that it was loose, and they tried to tighten it. There was an odor of marijuana but none was found. The matter was referred to Student Affairs. >>Oct. 14, 2017 8:10 a.m., Hitchcock House An officer responded to a report of a large hole found in a wall in the first-floor common room. >>Oct. 15, 2017 1:41 a.m., Mayo-Smith House While checking the house, an officer detected the odor of marijuana coming from a firstfloor room. After speaking to the resident, the officer confiscated some marijuana, a grinder used to grind marijuana and a bong used to smoke marijuana. The matter was referred to Student Affairs.

10:07 p.m., Williston Hall Officers investigated a smoke detector sound on the first floor and found it activated when popcorn burned in a microwave. >>Oct. 16, 2017 4:55 p.m., Jenkins Dormitory A student reported the theft of a green bicycle from the front of the building. The bicycle, which was not locked, is valued at $300. >>Oct. 20, 2017 12:45 a.m., Hitchcock House While at Hitchcock, an officer discovered a damaged door. >>Oct. 21, 2017 12:39 a.m., New Science Center Officers responded to a report of people inside the new science center construction area. They were located and identified as students. The matter was referred to Student Affairs.

12:51 a.m., Moore Dormitory A caller reported the glass

smashed in the north exterior door.

Department of Political Science

2:12 p.m., Stearns Dormitory A resident reported she let two people into the building she did not recognize and was concerned. Officers checked the entire building but they could not be found.

4:45 p.m., Railroad Tracks A caller reported several people on the railroad tracks near Facilities. They were advised to leave the area. >>Oct. 22, 2017 1:36 a.m., Keefe Campus Center An employee reported a group of intoxicated people in the building. They were leaving the building when an officer arrived. None appeared to need assistance.

2:27 a.m., New Science Center A security officer working at the science center construction site reported two people entered the restricted area and then fled the site upon seeing him. Officers checked the area but the two people could not be found.

2:31 a.m., Hitchcock House Officers responded to a report of an unknown male loitering in the building and asking residents if he could go into their rooms.

The person was identified as a non-Amherst College community member and he left the building.

3:10 a.m., Hitchcock House While in the house, an officer located a dog wandering around.

The owner, who was a visitor, was located and told that the animal could not be in the residence hall.

9:43 a.m., Alumni Gym An employee reported he confronted a man who was leaving with a bag of athletic clothing that belonged to him.

He retrieved the bag.

11:57 a.m., Hitchcock House A resident reported the theft of a Samsung cell phone, valued at $500, and $200 cash stolen from his unlocked room sometime during the night. >>Oct. 23, 2017 12:08 a.m., Keefe Campus Center A caller reported an unknown person acting in a suspicious manner in front of the building.

The person could not be found.

12:32 a.m., Hitchcock House A resident reported the theft of $100 in cash and a video game from his unlocked room the night before.

12:38 a.m., Hitchcock House A resident reported an unknown person entered her unlocked room unexpectedly the night before. He left when confronted.

Professor Eleonora Mattiacci is an Assistant Professor of Political Science. Hailing from Italy, Mattiacci holds both a Laurea Triennale and a Laurea Magistrale from Universita’ degli Studi di Bologna and an M.A. and Ph.D. from The Ohio State University.

Q: How did you become interested in my colleagues. The junior colleagues are bright international politics? and I’m loving them, and the senior colleagues are A: I come from Italy, and in Italy, usually you very nurturing when they advise us and mentor choose your major before you choose where you’re us. going to college. It’s different from the United States and it’s often a recipe for disaster, so you Q: What do you hope to contribute here? really need to be careful before you choose your A: I want to raise awareness of global processes. area of studies. The stakes are high. Political science Often times we study countries such as the struck me as the social science that embraced United States or China or even continents like complexity in a way that other social sciences just the European continent or the African continent didn’t. We study individuals at all levels. We study or regions. We rarely stop and think about the [topics] from public opinion to leadership, and in way people come together across borders to work my case, my subfield is international relations, so in this sort of global arena. That’s something I we also study how they interact across borders. really want to contribute — the awareness of the In order to do that, we often borrow from econ processes — especially as they’re applied to what I and law and languages and history. As someone do research on, which is war and conflict and why who was just starting college, I thought that was do we witness conflicts across countries at some the way to go, the point in time but not coolest thing. And others and how do they then I just kept being compete, for instance, on very interested. I I want to raise awareness who gets to have nuclear went from wanting of global processes. Often weapons, on who gets to read articles and cut [carbon dioxide] times we study countries to books to wanting to emissions, etc. such as the United States write them. or China or even continents Q: What classes are you Q: How has your teaching this semester the European and next semester? experience in the like United States been continent or the African What are they about? different from your This semester I teach continent or regions. We A: experience in Italy? a class on international A: Academically rarely stop and think about negotiations in climate speaking, they’re the way people come change. There are two very different two parts. The first worlds. It’s more together across borders to part, students and so the Italy and the work in this sort of global I read cutting-edge liberal arts college in academia arena. That’s something I research experiences, and in in political science, my own experience really want to contribute especially on when it’s quite unique, — the awareness of the and why international especially the way negotiations such as the Amherst College processes.

Paris Accord work or does it. It was a don’t work. In the second shock to come to the part of the class, we United States to do build on active learning a Ph.D. where it’s all strategies to put into about writing about your ideas and talking about practice what we’ve learned. We use simulations, your ideas and finding out that it was a language we use deep dives, we use case studies to shift that I wasn’t as good at communicating with as from reading to actually doing. Next semester I those who had been speaking English for decades. teach a class called “Wars and Refugees” where It was a great exercise on learning how to learn we investigate where refugees come from, what do again. It was step by step and it was a lot about international conventions say about their place in patience. the world and how they affect both the country of origin and the country of destination.

Q: What brought you to Amherst?

A: When I finished my Ph.D., I was evaluating Q: What do you consider unique about your two different options, one of which was Amherst. teaching style?

Amherst was like nothing I had ever done before. A: My goal in teaching — I don’t know how unique I had no exposure whatsoever to the liberal arts this is, I don’t think it’s unique — is to involve college life, and I had heard great things about it students as much as possible and hear their voices from colleagues and former students. When you as much as I can: Socratic method, presentations, go to conferences and you say, “I’m at Amherst,” discussions. I also make terrible jokes, and you people are like, “Whoa.” I just took a risk – I took a have to laugh because it’s a captive audience, so gamble. And taking risks is good. maybe that’s what’s unique.

“

”

Q: What do you like most about Amherst?

A: I love the students. They’re very, very intellectually curious and they’re very, very focused on what they do and they seem very motivated. My favorite thing is to guide them through their own research, whether it’s the endof-semester paper or it’s their thesis. Right now I supervise three thesis students. I just love to see them go from sort of a hunch to a fully developed theory that they invested in really early. I also like

Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?

A: What I love to do, my true passion, is listening to podcasts. I want to listen to a wide scope of podcasts: Fresh Air for instance, some radio shows, SpyCast, Freakonomics, New Books. That’s what I love doing.

— Natalie De Rosa ’21

The Amherst Student • October 25, 2017

News

3

Acclaimed Poet Richard Wilbur ’42 Dies at Age 96 Shawna Chen ’20 Managing News Editor Renowned poet and former John Woodruff Simpson Lecturer Richard Wilbur ’42 died on Oct. 14 after a lifetime of writing, reading and teaching. In a community-wide email, President Biddy Martin and Dean of Faculty Catherine Epstein wrote that Wilbur, a two-time Pulitzer Prize recipient and U.S. Poet Laureate, was “a remarkable man whose decency and humanity are as memorable as his verse.”

Wilbur was born in New York City and raised in New Jersey before arriving at Amherst in 1938 and declaring a major in English. On campus, he pledged Chi Psi, managed The Amherst Student as chairman and wrote numerous poems under the guidance of English professors such as Theodore Baird, George Armour, George Roy Elliot and George Whicher.

After graduating, Wilbur enlisted in the U.S. Army for World War II. Upon returning from the war, Wilbur received a master’s degree from Harvard and published his first book of poetry, “The Beautiful Changes.” What followed was a prolific writing career in which he published over 30 works and won numerous awards, including the National Book Award for Poetry.

Before retiring from academic life, Wilbur taught for nearly 40 years at institutions such as Harvard, Wellesley and Smith. A longtime resident of Cummington, Massachusetts, he began visiting Amherst to read his poetry and teach. In 1989, he was named the Robert Frost Literary Fellow, and in 2008, he returned to teach in the position created for Frost and co-taught a course once a semester with Professor of English David Sofield, a good friend.

Wilbur was 87 years old when he began teaching at Amherst. He and Sofield often took

their students out for lunch, and they both gave feedback on every student’s poetry.

“He was really smart and a very good teacher of poetry writing and a person with a vast literary store in his head, especially poetry,” Sofield said.

Ike Zhang ’16 took a poetry course with Sofield and Wilbur in his first year and remembers Wilbur as a “very hands-on, very engaged” teacher.

“He didn’t have to be — he was 93,” Zhang said.

“He’d already had his glory and his status as a poet laureate and poet prizewinner, but he never let that slow him in terms of engaging with students.”

Wilbur always had a story to share, he added.

“He was never lacking in terms of his humor and his wit,” Zhang said. “That came through his poetry, through his writing, through the way he spoke and the way he interacted.”

What set Wilbur apart from other famous American poets was his belief in and mastery of poetry in “traditional metrical and stanzaic

and rhyming patterns,” said Professor of English William Pritchard, who met and graded papers for Wilbur while Wilbur was teaching at Wellesley and Pritchard was finishing graduate school at Harvard. “He was a superb performer, a wonderful reader, gifted with an excellent resonant and humorous voice,” Pritchard added.

Wilbur’s warmth and generosity is what Sofield will miss the most. A stranger could talk to Wilbur for 20 minutes and feel better at the end of it, he said. “He was a major yeasayer to life,” Sofield said.

“He really believed that the glorious natural world that you and I lived in and he lived in and that everybody else lived in, at least during peacetime, was to be celebrated … He liked to affirm the world and the people in it.”

“He was a great man,” Sofield added. “That’s what he was.”

The college’s memorial service for Wilbur will take place in the spring.

‘Mammoth Munch’ Aims to Fill Students’ Cravings Lisa Zheutlin ’21 Staff Writer Mammoth Munch, a student-run late-night food delivery service from Schwemm’s Cafe to students, had its trial run from Oct. 1 to Oct. 14.

This trial period allowed students to test out the service, which is still in its early stages.

The idea for this enterprise came from Mateen Mills ’20. This past summer, Mills attended a business program at Middlebury called MiddCORE and was inspired by a similar studentrun service called GrilleME. After discussing the idea with students at Middlebury who were interested in expanding the idea to other college campuses, Mills created

Mammoth Munch with the help of the Middlebury student who created GrilleME. Originally, Mills had hoped to deliver pizza from Antonio’s to students on campus. However, due to the limited number of students on campus with cars, Mills switched to delivering from Schwemm’s, which is located in Keefe Campus Center. This would allow students delivering food on foot to work for Mammoth Munch.

Julia Daniell ’19, a student deliverer for Mammoth Munch, said she saw Mills’ Facebook post over the summer about the service. “I was feeling entrepreneurial, so I reached out to him and I thought it was a really great idea,” she said.

When Daniell is on call, she picks up any orders called into Schwemm’s and delivers them

to the customer. Daniell describes Mills as “the middleman” in charge of “online processing” while she brings the food to the customer.

Jimmy McMillian ’20 is also involved with the service. “[I do]the intake of orders and then instructing people to get the food and then go deliver it,” he said.

The development and execution of Mammoth Munch has undergone some trial and error.

During the initial pilot of the program, the website experienced technical difficulties. Add-drop period and students’ busy schedules have posed challenges for Mills.

Though the technological issues were resolved, the program has taken a break. According to Mills, the team is attempting to figure out issues relating

to payment.

“Because of the AC dollars system, it’s hard to have a credit card system where a company could pay for the delivery service while being able to track the services effectively,” he said.

He did, however, perceive the trial run as a success in terms of student interest and support.

Daniell stressed the importance of publicity for the success of the program. “It will become a lot bigger once people hear about it,” she said.

“In the future, if it goes well with Schwemm’s, hopefully [we can] move to Antonio’s,” Mills said. If that venture is successful, he envisions Mammoth Munch’s scope expanding into Hadley, delivering food from McDonald’s, Wendy’s and other restaurants in the area.

Student-Run Event Reaffirms Commitment to Divestment Continued from Page 1 Haus, which was moved from its typical location in Marsh to the First-Year Quad.

Although Climate Camp drew participation and support from several student organizations on campus, including political and affinity groups, it was primarily coordinated by DACC, a small group of student activists that adhere to a “horizontalist” approach to their organization. Chairez explained that this meant a group structure where “no one is

in charge of one another, [where students] show up as individual agents, ready to act as an individual,” with no formal hierarchies or assigned roles within the organization.

Through this egalitarian structure, Chairez said, DACC members hope to avoid replicating the hierarchical nature of institutions they are working to dismantle while also allowing members to “have an equal stake in what [they’re] doing.”

Though Ganatra said that she does not expect DACC to plan a similar event in the future, they

are considering ways to “escalate” their divestment campaign. Ganatra added that she hopes DACC will maintain connections with the environmental organizers who participated in the panel.

“I think something we’ve also learned is that a lot of energy does go into divestment,” Chairez said. “I personally — and this might be just me, not necessarily a group consensus or anything — think it’s important to not become a single-issue group … because as cool of an event as it was, it drained our energy.”

Chairez remained optimistic about DACC’s ability to foster awareness and create change on campus. “I always hear a lot of people say, ‘There’s nothing we can do, you know, under our current administration — it feels like you’re constantly trying to kill a twenty-headed hydra at all times, because something new pops up, and it can make you feel desperate,” said Chairez. “Being in a group that is committed to addressing those things … is something you can do, and should do, if you have the desire to do something.”

Search for New Chief Student Affairs Officer Begins Continued from Page 1 Epstein said the search will be consolidated to three candidates sometime around February or March. The candidates will each visit the campus before undergoing reviews for a final decision.

Coffey’s term as the first chief student affairs officer solidified the importance of the position,

and Epstein said in an interview that she hopes the replacement will help “bridge divides on campus.”

In 2013, Coffey defended the college’s athletes in response Professor of Political Science Thomas Dumm’s opinion article in The Student suggesting the college investigate “the connection between male athletics and rape culture.” Her response praising student-athletes’ other accomplishments

and denying Dumm’s claims made her a controversial figure on campus.

Many students perceived her 2014 appointment as lacking transparency, as the news was made public on the same day former Dean of Students Jim Larimore announced his unexpected departure.

Some students staged a protest in response to the announcement, and the Association of Amherst

Students (AAS) passed a resolution expressing “grave concern” over the decision and requesting consultation with the student body.

Students looking to get involved in the search for the new chief student affairs officer can attend a meeting with Isaacson, Miller on Thursday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. The meeting is limited to 50 students, but students are welcome to write to the committee

MRC Event Highlights Undocumented Student Activism Ariana Lee ’20 Staff Writer The Multicultural Resource Center hosted a panel and discussion on undocumented student activism and the right to education in conjunction with Freedom University on Oct. 13. According to its website, Freedom University is a Georgiabased school that “provides tuition-free education, college application and scholarship assistance and social movement leadership training to undocumented students banned from public higher education in Georgia.”

Freedom Univeristy Executive Director Emiko Soltis began with a presentation on Freedom University and its support for undocumented student activism. Next, a panel of Freedom University students shared their own experiences as undocumented students in the South. The event ended with a Q&A session.

Soltis began her presentation by explaining the implications of being an undocumented student in the United States and the ability and right of those students to access higher education.

“Out of the 2.1 million undocumented young people, only about 10,000 are in college,” Soltis said.

“And if you do your math, that’s less than 1 percent of the undocumented student population is in college, which is one of the lowest matriculation rates of any social group.” This, Soltis said, is “a very severe, deep problem in terms of access.”

Since 1982, the United States has had a law ensuring all young people have free access to K-12 education regardless of race, religion, ethnicity or citizenship status. However, this legislation does not apply to higher education, where such rights to education access are determined by individual states and private universities instead.

“Mostly, blue states have welcoming policies and in-state tuition and more red states do not,”

Soltis said. “About 21 states allow undocumented students to qualify for in-state tuition rates …

Unfortunately, there’s three states that actually have an admissions ban” — ­ Georgia included.

Assumptions that people have made about undocumented students were “meant to criminalize and demonize young people as people who take things away from others,” said Soltis.

Freedom University was founded seven years ago on the assumption that restrictive policies on higher education access would be short-lived and to meet the need to “have a space where undocumented students could continue their education despite the ban [on higher education],” Soltis said. The organization provides college-level classes and application assistance for students.

“Our theory of social change is that education can be resistance,” Soltis said. “Education can be liberatory … both consciousness and commitment together equals change.” In the past, Freedom

University students have been engaged in actions intended to bring about social change, including mobilizing for sanctuary campuses at universities, protesting the Georgia Board of Regents when fighting for access to public universities, advocating for changing admission policies to diversify private universities and engaging in federal lawsuits.

Alejandro Nino ’18, who attended the event, said it was inspiring to see the “resiliency and creativity that the students shared in their own experiences,” particularly in how they made lives for themselves in America despite setbacks.

He found Soltis’ talk engaging in the ways she drew parallels to segregation in education. “[Soltis] reminded people of how this right to education is being taken away from people within this country very explicitly,” he said. “I really appreciate what Freedom U does and really hope to look at it as a model of … what engagement and activism on a campus can look like and in a

Opinion

THE AMHERST

Farewell From The Editor in Chief

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

After two-plus years in the newspaper office and 20 issues in charge of The Student alongside my partner and co-editor in chief, Jingwen Zhang, I have overseen my last issue with the newspaper. Over the last nine months, we have reported on the college’s selection of its new mascot, the Mammoth, covered campus responses to a divisive U.S. President and continued communicating the most pressing needs of the college community to its constituents. The women’s basketball team won a national championship, and the paper expanded its online presence considerably on Facebook and other platforms.

In addition, Jingwen, our publication team (Emily Ratte, Tia Robinson and Mark Nathan) and I have negotiated an agreement with the AAS and the Office of Student Activities to place our paper on sound financial footing. This decision ends our paper’s tradition of financial independence, a decision we do not take lightly.

However, I am proud of our ability to pass off a financially stable newspaper to our successors and the hard work that has made this possible.

As a first-year, I wandered into the newspaper intro meeting with no previous experience and a desire to simply write a bit about sports. Now I leave with a deep appreciation of student journalism and extensive firsthand knowledge of some of the Amherst community’s most pressing concerns.

For this, I want to thank the people who have made the newspaper office such a special place for me. Lauren Tuiskula, my predecessor, first brought me into the office and showed me the ropes as a sports editor before providing critical advice throughout my years on the paper. Sophie Murguia demonstrated the incredible dedication and attention to detail that working for The Student entails. My fellow editors made the office a

welcoming environment for me to spend my Tuesday nights. During my time as editor in chief, they did the legwork to continue printing interesting, provocative articles. Finally, Jingwen proved a critical companion throughout the past few months.

To you, our readers, I would also like to thank you.

Ultimately, you are the people who make the job worth it. Nothing brought me more pleasure over the past few months than simply seeing someone pick up a paper and read. In the age of the Internet, print media, including some of the country’s most popular newspapers, has struggled to stay afloat. With fewer readers, ad revenue has dropped. The Internet has provided individuals an extraordinary outlet to consume media freely, but the informal nature of the medium has also brought down some of the bars that hold reporting to a high standard.

Thus, I urge all of you to continue reading The Amherst Student. I have seen so many writers, editors and staff publish extraordinary content in this paper. The Student provides an outlet for voices of any conviction to share their concerns with the college community, while holding these voices to a standard that ensures their accuracy and ongoing pertinence. Jingwen will continue to lead a fantastic team, while former sports editor Nate Quigley will join her as editor in chief. Under their stewardship, I will continue to read The Student weekly for updates on college community news. I hope you will too.

Drew Kiley ’18 Editor-in-Chief, The Amherst Student

If I May: Experiencing ‘The Amherst Effect’ Jake May ’19 Columnist From the time I arrived at Amherst two years ago until now, I have changed a great deal as a person. Many of these changes, I perceive to be positive. I feel that I’ve become more independent and more mature and that I have connected further with my passions by pursuing music, writing and other activities on campus.

I have made many great friends, people that I expect to stay close with long after graduation.

Finally, I’ve had the opportunity to engage with an incredible academic community.

However, I’ve also felt that Amherst has taken its toll on me. I’ve begun to feel lonely at times. I’ve slacked off on my academics more than I used to. I’ve overextended myself in my extracurricular activities. Sometimes, things that used to bring me a great deal of joy now bring me a great deal of stress. These are things that never happened to me in high school, but have come about while being here at Amherst.

Now, I don’t intend to make this into a pity party. Many of these downturns were my own fault. No one at Amherst forced me to be heavily involved in too many clubs. Amherst provided plenty of avenues for me to receive academic support, avenues which I didn’t (and still haven’t) pursued. However, I also know that I’m not alone in feeling these types of things.

Many people I know here at Amherst have gone through various struggles with mental health or with motivation. Some people, of course, have always struggled with these sorts of things. But

others, like me, felt them come on while here at Amherst. As the title of this article suggests, I’ve taken to calling this “the Amherst effect.”

Of course, I don’t know that this is actually a real phenomenon. All of this comes from personal experiences here at Amherst. Still, I worry about this sort of beleaguering effect the college has some of its students.

I’ve been trying to pinpoint why I think this may happen, but it is obviously very difficult. I have no way of knowing about others’ experience at Amherst, only my own. I do think that I have nailed down at least partially why I’ve begun to feel these things. I hesitated to write this article because I thought that it may seem too self-indulgent, but upon further reflection I decided to go through with it because perhaps any other struggling students reading this can know that they are not alone.

Anyway, I think that the driving force behind my struggles here at Amherst is the idea of “keeping it together.” This basically means powering through and making everything work out in the end. Maybe things seem — or are — stressful, but through it all, if you’re able to “keep it together,” you don’t let the stress faze you. I’ve always been someone who has been able to “keep it together.” Even in high school, when my college application process wasn’t going as planned, or when my math grades were continuing to slip because I suck at math, I was able to “keep it together.” Even at the beginning of my first year here, when I was worried about finding a group of friends, when I was seriously struggling academically for the first time with

my Intro to Econ course (because, again, I suck at math), I was able to “keep it together.” But this year, for one reason or another, I haven’t quite been able to “keep it together” as well as I have been able to in the past. Maybe it’s because I took on one too many responsibilities. Maybe it’s because I’m living without a roommate for the first time. But for some reason, the stress is taking more of a toll than it has in the past.

The unfortunate truth for me, though, is that not “keeping it together” only makes me more inclined to fail to do so. Since I’ve always been able to “keep it together,” the fact that I’m suddenly not able to is terrifying to me. “What’s going on?” I think. “I’ve always been the guy who can keep it together, why can’t I now?”

What I’m trying to tell myself, though, is that sometimes it’s okay that I can’t “keep it together.” College is hard. We’re expected to have all these great experiences, meet new people, get involved in clubs and campus activities and go to parties. At the same time, we’re also expected to handle a great deal of serious responsibilities: four tough classes, figuring out our major, figuring out our summer plans, figuring out what we want to do with our lives — basically, a lot of figuring out. This is such a difficult thing to navigate, so of course students are going to struggle. I don’t think I have any authority to make suggestions on how to get out of such a funk, so I will not. But I hope that any other students (or faculty!) that are going through something similar know that they are not alone.

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Editors-in-Chief Nate Quigley Jingwen Zhang Managing News Shawna Chen Assistant News Editor Emma Swislow Managing Opinion Kelly Chian, Daniel Delgado Managing Arts and Living Paola Garcia-Prieto, Olivia Gieger Managing Sports Connor Haugh, Kasia Krosniak, Henry Newton Managing Design Justin Barry Design Editors Katie Boback, Zehra Madhavan Head Publishers Emily Ratte Mark Nathin

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The Amherst Student • October 25, 2017

Opinion

5

Sexual Respect on Campus Five Years After Angie Epifano’s Testimony Amber Boykins ’18, Diane Lee ’19 and Julia Pretsfelder ’18 Contributing Writers Warning: This article contains references to racial and sexual violence that some readers may find upsetting.

“I will not be quiet.”

- Angie Epifano, “An Account of Rape at Amherst College,” The Amherst Student (2012) Angie Epifano’s harrowing account of her rape in The Amherst Student and the college administrators’ subsequent dismissal of her story catalyzed dialogue on sexual assault and gender discrimination on this campus. Since 2012, the college has significantly increased initiatives, such as bolstering the Peer Advocates and the Sexual Respect Task Force, in the hopes of reducing sexual misconduct on campus and creating a safer community for everyone. But to what extent has our campus changed in the last five years? While we often avoid the complexities of Title IX reports due to their legal density, we want to pay tribute to Epifano’s bravery by collecting and publishing the testimonies of several current Amherst students who identify as women.

The gendered, heteronormative terms used to discuss these incidents of sexual misconduct reflect how our queer, trans and non-binary peers are silenced. Given the personal nature of Epifano’s piece, we want to focus on those who brought their cases forward to Title IX to enhance our readers’ understanding of the sexual misconduct reporting process.

BEING A “FRESHMAN GIRL”

“...being forced to stay on campus in a dorm populated with men I did not know, that was the real psychological issue.”

- Angie Epifano It was Claudia’s* first college mixer, with presumably one of the campus’s “best” teams.

Her Hawaiian shirt-clad acquaintances — it was too soon to know if they would be friends — invited her to take a picture for a Sunday night Instagram post. She ran into her classmate from high school — the only familiar face — and they went to the bathroom to give each other cheerful pep talks.

As soon as she stepped out again, she recalled, she felt a large hand grab her lower butt.

“Hi, my name’s Nick,” he said, towering over her in a basketball jersey and salmon shorts.

After such an introduction, Claudia was confused about how to read the situation.

“You’re really hot,” she remembers him saying.

“Are you a freshman?” She said she was, and he proclaimed, “I’m a senior,” his beer-soaked voice booming in her right ear. This wasn’t the way her high school crush had ever treated her, she thought, and this was so public, but so oddly and uncomfortably flattering.

“A senior?!” exclaimed the girls around

* We have changed the names of those involved and omitted identifying details out of respect for the privacy of our subjects.

her. “I heard he’s hot … You should hook up with him.”

“I felt a strange knot in my stomach, but I liked the surge of attention,” Claudia recalled, an interaction complicated by the way in which we are taught to valorize male attention.

Teaching hypothetical consent to our firstyears does not reflect how sexual misconduct often actually plays out on this campus. Sexual assault isn’t always a green-eyed monster who slips a roofie in your drink. There are evident power dynamics that primarily put women, especially younger women, at risk of being preyed upon by older men. And Claudia, with no fully established support systems and little knowledge of who to avoid, was no exception.

In fact, she did not recognize or articulate what went wrong for a long time.

Nick ran into Claudia again and whispered, “Hey, can you help me with something?” Her friends encouraged their exit as they left, holding hands. She told one of them to call her in five minutes, just in case she wanted to leave.

He told her, “I really like you,” and flipped off his light switch, pulling her back against the plaster wall.

“It seemed nice at first. He was a good kisser,” she told us.

Then she tried to leave: “But I thought we were having a good time,” he said.

“We were, but I have to help my friend,” she answered. She could tell he was frustrated and disappointed. She didn’t like saying no to him. He gave her his number and said they could do this some other time. Claudia is one of at least four first-years he preyed upon.

Many may be tempted to say he coincidentally hooked up with a lot of first-years, but what was troubling about Nick was that he targeted them because they were younger. He texted Danielle, another who met him during her first year, “Happy birthday, hope you had some great birthday sex,” even after she had ignored his previous messages because their sexual encounter had felt so exploitative.

Claudia ran into him on the stairwell of a party dorm a few weeks later. He ignored her and glared at her. That made her want to talk to him more. She finally reintroduced herself, and they went back to his room. He lit a candle because she was “worth it.” She was scared when he took off her bra because she had never gotten that far with a boy before.

“He moved quickly, and I wasn’t sure where he was going,” she said.

She explicitly told him what she did and did not want to do multiple times, but he didn’t care. She tried to convince herself that this was something she had signed onto. But she finally stopped him, and he got angry. He locked the door and yelled at her in the dark, telling her that she had tricked him and that he was disappointed. He would “never take her virginity,” and how dare she think that she can come into his room and be so rude? She cried, and he told her that it disgusted him to see her cry in his bed.

“I just remember leaving with my underwear scrunched up in the sleeve of my sweater,” she said.

One of Claudia’s friends reported him to Title IX after hearing about his violence and his often racist verbal attacks on women who rejected him in the socials. Claudia received an email from Title IX staff about the resources she had available. She didn’t want him to be more upset, and she was scared that she would

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be excluded from social spaces.

At Crossett Christmas, he publicly screamed about how he wouldn’t hook up with Claudia because she was a virgin. Back in his bedroom, he berated her for her identity as an Asian-American woman. “You may think you’re from the West, but you’re really from the East,” he said, pushing her hand wherever he wished and making her clean up his semen.

At least five other women reported him to Title IX over the course of his four years for racially and sexually violent incidents.

He faced no serious or evident disciplinary action. Some stories involved virulently anti-black comments and his drunken screams aimed at another girl, Danielle, who said she ignored his repeated advances as she walked home alone on a Tuesday night.

In the spring, Nick graduated with athletic honors.

BLACKOUT

“In short I was told: No you can’t change dorms, there are too many students right now. Pressing charges would be useless, he’s about to graduate, there’s not much we can do. Are you SURE it was rape? It might have just been a bad hookup … You should forgive and forget.”

- Angie Epifano You black out, you have sex, you regret it.

Yet that sex may have been rape. The impracticality of not having sex under the influence or the “awkwardness” — or, maybe worse, the prideful pats on the back people give themselves for asking for mandatory consent — should not preclude doing nothing at all.

These encounters leave you with “the rusty taste of shame” Epifano cited nearly five years ago.

Danielle recalled such an event. “He looked down at me, holding my legs up at the foot of his bed, and said, ‘By the way, you’re consenting, right?’ And I sorta laughed like, ‘Well, yeah, kinda late for that when you’re inside me’. And he said, ‘Well, sometimes people get in trouble for that.’ Not to mention the people who they raped. But I was wasted and didn’t think about that comment until later. I was a first-year and thought bad sex with men you disliked was how one-night stands worked.

Though I technically consented, after more bad sex with men I dislike, I see how particularly disgusting and exploitative he was.”

Even calling that morning-after confusion “regret” oversimplifies the feeling that something about last night went wrong. We normalize this transgression to laughable shame or “rapey-ness,” but maybe the fear returns in ways you do not expect when you see the “bad hook-up” in passing, see another student with the same backpack as them, or shudder with a secret repugnance at the mention or memory of that night.

“I would not have gone through that process if nothing had happened,” another interviewee said. She remembers very little from that party but woke up in physical pain with the conviction that something was not right.

Her sober roommate and peers who saw her out the night before urged her to report after hearing her say how a man was following her

and she didn’t want to hook up with him. The individual she later accused messaged her late that night asking her to not disclose what happened between them. Yet, how can a conviction that something is wrong be a certainty for a woman living in our society? We don’t trust women, and we fracture their ability to trust themselves.

The blame and the shame are not solely institutional but also a reflection of the legal and medical suspicions surrounding rape. When an interviewee went to conduct a rape kit test, the friend who accompanied her for emotional support was not allowed in the room. Over the course of the next five hours, she had to repeat their story to every new nurse who entered the room for testing. Equally repetitive and draining, the testimony was a horribly detailed, graphic recounting of what the defendant called “our sexual encounter.” Many survivors reach a point where they have repeated the details so many times that they dull in meaning.

When Claudia, whose case we visited earlier, finally took her friends’ advice and went to the college’s counseling center, her therapist told her that she needed to stop putting herself in the position of being abused and feeling unsafe. “I wondered, was I perpetuating my own assault?” she said. She already had blamed herself for what had happened. If anything, going to the counseling center made her more confused.

Fortunately, when she reached out to Jacqueline Alvarez, the director of the counseling center, Alvarez listened thoughtfully to her experience and reassigned her to another therapist dealing specifically with trauma. Another specialist at the center was supportive to one of our respondents even when their Title IX case went nowhere.

The college staff handling sexual assault today would likely not directly discourage a report as they did during Epifano’s case. However, one interviewee said, “[Title IX Coordinators] talk to you in this quiet, hushed voice that is supposed to make you feel comfortable, but it’s very condescending.” She felt that they did not offer her enough guidance throughout the process, seemingly more invested in saying where they were at in the investigation than explaining her rights in crafting a statement or navigating a no-contact order (NCO).

Some students have received short and casual notice that they will be living in the same dorm as someone with whom they have a NCO and others have had to move out right before school.

The ruling on the case brought forth by a previously mentioned survivor stated that he was “not guilty and not responsible,” the student observed, which she found particularly hurtful.

“If he is not guilty and not responsible, I thought, am I responsible?”

Authors’ Note: This article is the first part of a two-part series in which we reflect on the changes the college has made since Angie Epifano wrote her article, “An Account of Rape at Amherst College,” published in 2012. Our goal in writing this article is to determine whether or not those who bring cases to Title IX feel heard, respected and satisfied with the outcome.

The second part of this series will focus on Title IX’s failure to recognize the intersectionality of survivors’ identities, especially as incidents of sexual assault are racialized.

Join the Opinion Staff!

If you want to write for us, email kchian20@amherst.edu

Arts&Living

Mammoths React: Student Thoughts on a Mammoth Unveiling

Photo courtesy of Olivia Gieger ’21

The new Mammoth logo was unveiled at the homecoming bonfire on Friday, followed by a festive evening of musical performances and food.

Paola Garcia-Prieto ’18 and Olivia Gieger ’21 Managing Arts & Living Editors After a yearlong process of selecting the Mammoth as the new Amherst mascot, the Mascot Committee, convened by the Board of Trustees, hired the design studio Pentagram to design the actual mascot logo.

The studio describes itself as one of the world’s largest independently-owned design studios and has a vast portfolio of work for large academic

The mammoth quickly covered apparel, given and sold at homecoming.

institutions in addition to design work for businesses in entertainment, transportation and food and drink. The long-awaited logo was unveiled last Friday at the annual bonfire, kicking off the weekend’s homecoming events. While the logo was met with cheers and shouts, Amherst students and alumni now take time to reflect more on the Mammoth mascot and design: Kalaya Payne Alex ’17: I like it a lot. The design conveys determination and forward motion, but it’s cute at the same time.

Finally, a mascot I can relate to. In all seriousness, though, I think it’s very successful as a logo. It reads as a mammoth and it isn’t over complicated Michael Barnett ’18: I love the mascot design! I was concerned that the Mammoths would seem like a slow and docile mascot, but the design makes it ferocious which is good for a mascot. I’ve never been more tempted to buy Amherst apparel from AJ Hastings!

Dakota Meredith ’17: From an aesthetic stand-

point, I love the way the design is so angular because I think it emphasizes the curve of the tusks (#tusksup). And I’m so glad to have finally gotten a concrete sign that the voices of the campus community protesting Lord Jeff for years have been heard. There was a small part of me that was still worried that the decision to make us the Amherst Mammoths would be overturned somehow, so having the physical logo really makes it real for me.

mind. But, that said, I think it is a nice balance between an aggressive and cute mascot. Does it represent us well? Can a mascot really represent a student body? I think that the symbolic ideas behind a mammoth are values that the Amherst community should emulate, like strength, kindness and intelligence.

Alli Bennett ’19E: I love it! I was worried because I’m a cynical human who does not trust this school to do good things ever, but I was very pleasantly surprised! I’m also planning on getting some apparel.

Meg Foye ’21: At first I was unsure about having a mammoth as our mascot and thought it was a little strange, but since I’ve gotten to campus and have actually seen the logo, I like it a lot more.

Photo courtesy of Amherst College

Rebecca Novick ’21 I was definitely surprised by the mascot — it wasn’t what I pictured in my

Despite originall disliking the mascot, Meg Foye ‘21 proudly wears the new logo at homecoming.

email pgarciaprieto18@amherst.edu

The Amherst Student • October 25, 2017

Arts & Living 7

Review:“Blade Runner: 2049” in Light of Original “Blade Runner”

Photo courtesy of supereroi-news.com

As with its predecessor, monochromatic scenery dominates the city-scapes of “Bladerunner: 2049“ as a reminder of human numbness with the rise of technolYoungkwang Shin ’19 Contributing Writer With a runtime of nearly three hours, thanks to a trio of preceding short films which explained the thirty-year interlude between it and Ridley Scott’s seminal sci-fi masterpiece, “Blade Runner: 2049” arrived at the box office with fewer profitable ripples than its investors would have liked. But while its commercial underperformance is nothing notable in the post-summer daze when tentpole blockbusters fall like leaves, a deeper, closer view finds that Denis Villeneuve’s recent cyberpunk outing is his third consecutive home-run following “Sicario” and “Arrival”. Though it does not quite reach the heights of its Ridley Scott-helmed predecessor, “2049” can firmly assert itself as one of the brighter lights of the year’s palette.

“Brighter light” is a phrase perfect for any discussion of either Blade Runner film. Scott’s 1982 original soaked Los Angeles in a solemn blue, discoloring every neon declaration of technological progress with human sadness.

The loudest of these declarations was the gigantic geisha in the center of the cityscape, standing tall yet seemingly submerged in some inarticulate and primal chrysalis it had not quite shed.

The geisha was always smiling at the pinnacle of the world. Then we cut to a taller pyramid, occupied by a spry, bespectacled billionaire who turns out to have created life itself. It was the aggregate of these small and jarring transitions that comprised the hammerhead of the original film’s narrative power.

There was the upper class, predominantly and intentionally white, always silent and invisible in the darker recesses of their beautiful mansions that were arrayed as fortresses. There was the low-

er class, still selling street food, still being pounded by the ceaseless, merciless rain. Then there were the Replicants, artificially created human clones, whose only similarity to their upper-class makers was their general absence from the rest of society.

But they did not live in splendor; they often did not live at all, thanks to the Blade Runners. Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), the original film’s Blade Runner, navigated these three spaces with the quiet faith that his eyes could tell them apart. But just as the movie began with a close-up of the eye, it ended with one as well, specifically the eye’s smug supremacy, slowly bringing out that sad shade of blue lurking behind the appearance of a near future utopia.

“Blade Runner: 2049” too is blue, it making clear from the get-go that the preoccupations of the first movie are its own. The new Blade Runner, K (Ryan Gosling), is also a Replicant, hunting down the remnants of an older generation of Replicants who were never programmed to blindly obey orders. But as the old movie taught us, K is as much a product of his heart as much as his programming, a different protagonist in the same story. Even as he takes down his runaway kin, there is a resentment that grows uncontrollably, with his AI lover Joi (Ana de Armas) as an outlet. Next to her, his existence is bearable — bearably real; the strings that force him to track and kill are not so noticeable in their room. But not too far into the story, K learns of a secret about the Replicants that shakes the very foundations of this establishment.

For once, hope glimmers that a protagonist of the “Blade Runner” films, after this long history of suffering, can finally become a hero.

K’s journey, riddled with too many juicy spoilers to discuss in detail, takes him outside the city, away from the control of his organic superiors and

into the badlands, toward the anxiety of freedom.

Blue no longer rules where K travels. It is red, that fiery cloud that envelops everything, in which K’s smallest steps slowly unveil a wasteland frontier untouched by the city’s evil. Here, K is free. But, simultaneously, there is nothing. The most powerful part of “Blade Runner: 2049” is this duality present in K’s freedom. A Replicant has finally found a way to become a hero, but every turn of the story dismantles that hope, bit by bit. However, by its moving conclusion, the film arrives at a beautiful reconciliation between these poles.

It is almost enough to excuse the instrumental way Villeneuve uses the female characters to further K’s character arc. The geisha of the original film is replaced by the hologram of a giant purple woman, naked and nakedly promoting the more sensual services of the city’s underbelly. Then there is Joi, K’s female AI, both sexual and maternal, always beside or behind K, never far beyond his reach and comfort. Part of K’s intense attraction towards this role of hero is coded unmistakably a historically masculine desire for powerful independence, surrounded by and set apart from the caretaker feminine, as a Sun is by its planets.

The film’s women never quite achieve K’s character depth, but the tail end of this film deconstructs K’s desire thoroughly enough to critique this unspoken part of the film.

What does not get quite resolved by the film’s end is the over-emphasized presence of Deckard.

Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford. The new and the old. The red and the blue, that never quite congeal into the perfect purple. The new additions and developments to Blade Runner’s world are rock solid, as discussed; K’s own arc may prove to be the most thoughtful piece of the two films. But when Harrison Ford brings his blues into this movie and

his own story begins to run in parallel to Gosling’s, the tight narrative of the sequel unfurls.

The final leg of K’s spiritual journey sees him make peace with his ultimate inability to become a hero and human. He paradoxically discovers a heroism and humanity beyond the confines of the world and his imagination; A paradox that brings out irrational choice in a hyper-rational world, [the] ghost in the machine and depth in surfaces — a rote but resonant endgame to many a philosophical quandary in science fiction.

Deckard’s own arc grates against the message of K’s arc. It fixates on a search for a “real” someone, and hastily rejects the unexamined “fakeness” of someone to the point where the arc undoes some of the impact of K’s story. When these two plotlines intersect, the crime is doubled. The climax of the film features a bombastic fight to the death between Replicants that feels out of place in a film, which desires to echo the spirit of the original, the climax of which featured one of scifi cinema’s most moving moments of compassion and understanding.

But even the recent film’s closing scene is beautifully directed; if one gains nothing from this movie, they will at least find solace in its breathtaking images. The good the film accomplishes cannot be discussed in full without having seen it, and so the ultimately minor blemishes of the picture stand out, even in this review. Regardless, there is little more to say about these films than to obey their oldest imperative found in their very first image of the eye. See the good, the bad, the city, the wasteland, the rich, the poor, the human made inhuman, the inhuman made human, the rain, the snow, tears in the rain, tears in the snow — see the films, in their red-blue glory.

On its Anniversary, A Look Back at Logic’s “Under Pressure” Jack Klein ’20 Contributing Writer On Oct. 21, 2014, Maryland-based rapper Logic released his debut studio album, “Under Pressure.” It reached number four on the Billboard 200 and was eventually certified gold. Three years and two albums later, it remains Logic’s career-defining work and a stepping-stone to mainstream audience acceptance. Before making “Under Pressure,” Logic had released four mixtapes and achieved a cult status in the rap community, establishing an extremely devoted fan base located all over the world. These previous projects had featured his rhyming abilities and beats sampled from famous hip-hop songs. In his mixtapes, he discussed his feelings, problems and aspirations but didn’t thoroughly explore his past. In “Under Pressure,” Logic takes the listener through his rough and scarring upbringing in Gaithersburg, Md. However, his stories don’t mire the album in a negative, pity-inviting rut like other music about hard times. Logic transforms his pain into art; he switches between vivid scenes from his childhood (“I was in the crib, just sittin’ on the rug / Bassheads comin’ through lookin for the plug”) and uplifting, grateful introspection about experiences from life af-

ter success, like “Conversations with No I.D. / Who made hits with [Kan]ye, got hits with Jay[-Z].” “Under Pressure” was Logic’s most complete and personal work to date, defining his sound and commencing an exploration of his artistic and thematic range in his following releases.

Logic opens the album with “Intro,” establishing his goals for the entire project: “I just wanna make these music lovers remember again / While the haters fall back like September again.” “Intro” not only sets the tone for the album, it also lays the groundwork for the rest of his career. Logic sheds expectations by stating: “I’m not defined by the sales of my first week / Cause in my mind the only way I fail if my verse weak.” Unlike many other rappers who find validation in album sales, Logic strives to create quality music with meaning.

By disregarding these conventions, he freed himself to make an ambitious concept album (“The Incredible True Story,” 2015), a spontaneous, nerdy mixtape (“Bobby Tarantino,” 2016) and a controversial, well-timed album about his biracial heritage and race relations in America (“Everybody,” 2017).

“Everybody,” released earlier this year, delves into Logic’s struggles with his racial identity and his mental health. These struggles

are both pervasive and significant to many people in America; “Everybody” was supposed to have something for everyone. Such a personal and momentous album did not come as a shock to Logic’s fans after its seeds were planted in “Under Pressure.” To be able to talk about issues that affect other people, he first had to open up about his past to his listeners.

In “Soul Food,” the second track on the album, he raps about the hopelessness of his situation: “Can’t take no more, momma on drugs, daddy M.I.A. / What can I say? I just wanted to be a kid and play.” In “Gang Related,” he describes his home as “Beautiful by day, by night it’s hysteria.” With rapid-fire flow, he recounts frantic and disorienting memories: “Just breathe, while their mama grieve / Bullet to the dome like an Aleve.” The synthesis of the pace of his verses and their content produce a phenomenological effect; the listener is transported to a drug house in Gaithersburg, watching and hearing everything unfold in the frenzy.

Logic’s ability to capture listeners’ attentions by immersing them in a story is as impressive as his flair for quick rapping and capacity for clever wordplay. Regardless of genre, artists who grace the top-selling charts rarely possess this talent. After developing these story-telling skills in “Under Pressure,” he utilizes them in

“Everybody” to address real, current issues.

“Everybody” is Logic’s most important work, culturally and thematically. It is a culmination of his career to date and his most daring content-wise. Unlike his past albums and mixtapes, this album focuses mainly on social issues. He urges fans with depression to get help in “1-800-273-8255,” discusses his battle with anxiety in “Anziety” and grapples with the complicated state of American race relations in “Take It Back.” As Logic has matured, he has targeted his music’s substantial message at the audience that needed it most.

Integral elements of the excellence of “Under Pressure” shine through in all of Logic’s recent works. Inquiries about the relative value of the past and future in the whimsical “Driving Ms. Daisy” can be found on “The Incredible True Story.” Logic’s free-wheeling and fastpaced flow featured in “Now” pervades “Bobby Tarantino,” especially on its hit single “Flexicution.” Exhibiting his storytelling prowess on “Soul Food” and “Gang Related” prepared him to tackle the topics of race and mental health throughout his album “Everybody.” Without “Under Pressure,” Logic may not have found the courage and voice to confront his demons and share his journey to overcome his struggles with his listeners.

Arts & Living 8

The Amherst Student • October 25, 2017

The Best Places to Keep Your Family Entertained Next Weekend

Photo by Jingwen Zhang ’18

With family weekend on the horizon, make sure to take your visitors to some of the attractions the valley has to offer while taking time to enjoy campus.

Olivia Luntz ’21 Contributing Writer Family Weekend, Nov. 3-5, is almost upon us, and although Amherst has many activities to keep everyone entertained, your family may want to see more of the area than what exists on campus. Take advantage of having a car at your disposal by checking out these spots.

Montague Bookmill 15 miles from campus 440 Greenfield Rd, Montague, Mass.

A delectable dairy dreamland, Flayvors is the rare place where you can eat ice cream and then meet the cow that the milk came from. The calves at Flayvors, besides being extremely cute, love meeting people and will lick your hand like a dog if you let them. After getting some love from the calves, head inside for delicious ice cream, with “flayvors” ranging from cow spots (vanilla ice cream with fudge swirl and mini peanut butter cups) to cookie monster (blue vanilla ice cream, cookie dough and oreo pieces).

Flayvors also has great fall flavors for the season, including pumpkin and chai. If someone’s not in a mood for ice cream Flayvors also offers homemade mac and cheese, grilled cheese and tomato soup.

Dobra Tea 8 miles from campus 186 Main Street, Northampton, Mass.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The Montague Bookmill is a used book and music store housed within a 1842 gristmill.

Block out some time to wander the stacks, sit down on one of the comfy couches conveniently placed around the store and leaf through some of your finds. Be sure to save some time to also head to the attached cafe to enjoy a cup of coffee, a good book and a beautiful view of the river.

Flayvors of Cook Farm 4 miles from campus 129 S Maple St, Hadley, Mass.

If anyone in your family is a tea lover, Dobra is a must go. Entering Dobra Tea is like stepping into another world, especially if you choose to sit in the elevated space in the middle of the dining room, which only has low tables surrounded by cushions. Upon sitting, you’ll ring a small bell to alert your server, who will then present you with a binder full of different types of tea and their descriptions. From there, you can take your time flipping through before ordering a pot of tea and a small snack to go with it. Once the tea is brewed, you’ll receive a beautiful tea pot and cup and be left to relax and enjoy. This is the perfect place to go after a busy day of shopping in Northhampton or running around campus.

Within the Smith College campus is a 12,000 square foot garden which houses both plants native to the area and more exotic plant varieties from around the world. Within the Lyman Conservatory, you can travel the globe by walking through the succulent room, fern room or orchid room. In addition, check out where some your favorite drinks come from, by looking at the conservatory’s tea, coffee and cola plants.

Outside, the Capen Garden is home to a rose arbor and flower beds while Happy Chace Garden houses herbs and trees and also offers an amazing view of Paradise Pond. Additionally, Family Weekend is the first weekend of the garden’s famous Fall Chrysanthemum Show. Be sure to go the conservatory to see the explosion of red, pink, yellow and orange blooms.

If you can’t get away from Amherst, the campus itself is also home to its own interesting and under the radar spots to take your family.

Yūshien (Japanese Garden) Enter from inside Webster Hall Created in 2001, Amherst’s “Garden of Friendship” is a beautiful and tranquil Japanese garden created in honor of the strong ties between Amherst and Doshisha University in Japan. Amherst’s garden has even been ranked one of the best Japanese Gardens in America.

exhibition “Tell It Like It Is — Or Could Be” features large scale photographs from contemporary photographers around the world. Another exhibition, “From the Picturesque to the Modern Vision”, traces the evolution of European landscape paintings from the 17th to 20th century.

Amherst College Archives & Special Collections Located in A-level Frost The Archives and Special Collections area of the library is home to most of the rare books, manuscripts, photographs and historic objects the college owns. The front room of the archives currently displays the history of Amherst’s mascots and sports, including pamphlets from Amherst vs. Williams games dating back to the 1800s. Another fun part of the Archive is the is the reading room, which houses all of the past issues of The Amherst Student. Look through some past issues to see how the college has or has not changed.

Beneski Museum of Natural History 11 Barrett Hill Rd, Amherst, MA 0100

Mead Art Museum Behind James and Stearns Dormitories

The Botanic Garden at Smith College 9 miles from campus 16 College Ln, Northampton, Mass.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Photo courtesy of Massachusetts Office of & Tourism

Photo by Olivia Luntz ’21

Photo courtsey of Wikimedia Commons

The Mead boasts Amherst’s art museum, with an expansive and impressive collection including work from Claude Monet and Thomas Cole along with pieces from contemporary artists. Currently, the Mead exhibitions represent a variety of art, with paintings, photography and multimedia from today and centuries ago. The

Beneski is one of New England’s largest natural history museums with over 1,700 specimens on display across three floors. Visit fossils of creatures as small as fish and as immense as dinosaurs and minerals from around the world and beyond it. Most importantly, go to Beneski to see the mammoth skeleton that provided the inspiration for Amherst’s new mascot and take a family picture with Bebu.

The Amherst Student • October 25, 2017

Sports 9

Winter Sports Preview Women’s Basketball Hopes to Replicate Last Season’s Astounding Triumphs Henry Newton ’21 Managing Sports Editor

Coming off a season that saw the 2016-2017 Amherst women’s basketball team finish with an incredible 33-0, the Mammoths will look to recapture some of the success that saw the tean captured both a NESCAC title and Division III National Championship. This was the program’s second ever national championship and first ever undefeated season.

In last year’s NCAA championship match, the Mammoths bested Tufts, who finished the game and their season with a record of 30-3.

Each of the Jumbos’ three losses on the year came at the hands of the purple and white; one in regular season play, one in the NESCAC championship game and one in the NCAA title game.

Amherst was able to accomplish these great

feats due to a high-powered yet efficient offense that saw the Mammoths put up almost 70 points per game with an astounding team field goal percentage of 43.5 percent. This efficiency was key to Amherst’s ability to dominate lesser teams and grind out wins against the more talented squads they faced.

This coming season, however, looks to be more challenging for the Mammoths, as the exceptional senior class that led Amherst to these heights has graduated.

With three out of five starting spots needing to be filled, it will be up to last year’s role players and this year’s newcomers to fill these big shoes.

Gone are twins Ali Doswell ’17 and Meredith Doswell ’17. A. Doswell was the Mammoths’ leading scorer who averaged almost 13.5 points per game in her senior season and finished her collegiate career as Amherst’s all-time scoring leader. M. Doswell was the team’s third-

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

leading scorer and defensive specialist who led the team in rebounds, steals and blocks.

Furthermore, starting guard Jaimie Renner ’17 graduated alongside, leaving Amherst needing to replace its entire backcourt for the upcoming season.

Luckily, the Mammoths seem to have the talent to compensate for losses of such magnitude. Head Coach and D3hoops.com Coach of the Year G.P. Gromacki has plenty of talent to work with, as Amherst returns its second and fourth-leading scorer Emma McCarthy ’19 and Hannah Hackley ’18, respectively.

Both Hackley and McCarthy started the majority of the games at their positions for the Mammoths and are almost guaranteed to retain those spots this winter.

Additionally, Amherst will look to Madeline Eck ’20, NESCAC Rookie of the Year, to continue to blossom into a dominant player after

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

she impressed in her debut campaign as a sixth man.

Tufts again appears to be the Mammoths’ top competition in the year ahead, as the Jumbos will seek to avenge the trio of losses they suffered last year.

The lone regular season meeting between the two storied programs in the upcoming campaign will take place in Amherst on Friday, Feb. 2, a matchup that will surely have major postseason implications.

Other notable games include a matchup between the Mammoths and UC Santa Cruz at the 2017 D3hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas on Dec. 28.

Before all this, though, Amherst will get their national title defense underway at home on Saturday, Nov. 18 at the Amherst Tip-Off Classic Invitational Tournament against Lyndon State College in a first-round matchup.

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Men’s Squash Returns Key Players, Men’s Basketball Seeks to Replace Looks to Build on Recent Successes Much of Last Season’s Firepower Connor Haugh ’21 Managing Sports Editor Despite the difficulties the team faced last postseason, Amherst men’s squash looks to put together another strong season. With Head Coach Peter Robson entering his 31st season at the helm of Amherst squash, the team looks to build upon last season’s individual successes.

Junior Harith Khawaja earned All-NESCAC honors, finishing the season with a combined record of 6-13 in regular season play on courts one and two.

Khawaja was most impressive in his postseason wins over Conn. College and MIT, picking up a comeback win against the Camels and sweeping his Engineer opponent.

Khawaja will certainly be a force to be reckoned with on the first court as he continues to develop.

However, he may miss some matches at the beginning of the season, as he presently is studying abroad. This will shine the spotlight on players looking to face the challenge of court one.

Deeper down the ladder, David Merkel ’19 finished the season with a court three record of 10-8, also recording a victory on court two.

The team will count on him to continue his winning ways in the coming season.

Merkel was also the only team member to secure a winning record in the final ten matches of last season, with six wins and four losses.

Although the ladder for the coming season remains uncertain, Amherst returned seven

out of nine players who played consistently in a laddered position, losing only Darian Ehsani and Michael Groot to graduation. Ehsani played at the fifth spot, while Groot played mostly in the second position.

With regular season wins against tough competition including Hamilton, Wesleyan and Stanford, the team showed its promise and talent.

However, the team struggled in postseason play, only managing to best Bowdoin in the consolation bracket of the NESCAC tournament.

Close losses to Colby, at both the CSA Championships and NESCAC Tournament dashed the Mammoths’ postseason hopes.

Key to any chance of success for Amherst will be the play of a talented group of five firstyears, including Reginald Brewster.

“So far, the team has been fun, [with] a lot of camaraderie,” Brewster said. “Preseason thus far has consisted of lifts, captains’ practices, and we recently began a challenge match tournament to establish the season’s preliminary ladder.”

The team returns only one senior, Cameron Bahadori ’18, so these young Mammoths certainly will have an opportunity to develop their talent with plenty of competitive experiencein the coming season.

The Mammoths will open their season early this year, beginning competitive play on Nov. 17. Amherst will host Tufts, who did not qualify for NESCAC postseason play last year.

Kasia Krosniak ’21 Managing Sports Editor The Amherst men’s basketball team returns to the court this season with high hopes, despite having just graduated eight seniors. These seniors had formed the core of an Amherst squad that made it to four consecutive NCAA tournaments, including two Final Fours. They had also domianted the team leader-board in most statistical categories.

Although the squad as a whole is smaller this year than it had been in past years, coach David Hixon said they are excited about the challenge that this will bring.

Further complicating an already difficult situation is a change in the Mammoths’ coaching staff.

Due to Kevin Hopkins taking a head coaching job at Muhlenburg College, the team hired Amherst alumnus and former captain Adam Hutchison ’93 to fill the assistant coach position.

However, the team has welcomed five firstyears to hopefully fill the spots of the graduating seniors. They include Grant Robinson, Garrett Day, Fru Che, Timmy McCarthy and Griffin Gerwig.

“I’m excited about the season and to see what we will be able to accomplish as a team,” Gerwig said. “Our team chemistry is great, and I think we’ll have a lot of fun throughout the season. I’m really looking forward to a great season.”

This year, the team will be led by senior captains Johnny McCarthy and Michael Riopel. Last season, McCarthy averaged 14.2 points, eight rebounds and two assists a game.

Riopel was similarly key to Amherst’s offense,

averaging 10.2 points, four rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.

The sole other returning player who averaged over five minutes per game last season is sophomore Eric Sellew. Sellew played just over nine minutes per game last season, and he averaged 2.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. This season, Sellew will look to improve his statistics with an increase in playing time.

Apart from Sellew, Hixon will largely look to untested players to fill the shoes of Eric Conklin and David George who were dominant in the low post for the Mammoths. The list of potential replacements includes interior players Joe Schneider ’19 and CJ Bachmann ’19, who hopes to finally get serious minutes. Che is also a big man who will compete for playing time down low.

On the perimeter, there are six players who will be battling it out for minutes. These outside players include Dylan Groff ’19 and a trio of sophomores — Josh Cherry, Stephen Clapp and Tommy Mobley. First-years McCarthy and Gerwig will also be vying for playing time, either on the wings or at one of the guard spots.

At the all-important position of point guard, the Mammoths return almost no one with experience thanks to the departures of seniors Reid Berman and Jayde Dawson. This will open the door for Vic Sinopli ’19, Robinson and Day, all of whom have aspirations to run the Amherst offense.

The Mammoths will return to the court on Wednesday, Nov. 1 to begin practice and will open their season with a home game on Friday, Nov. 17 against Sarah Lawrence College at 6 p.m.

10

Sports

The Amherst Student • October 25, 2017

Volleyball Hosts Hall of Fame Invite, Wins Two, Loses One over Weekend

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

In this weekend’s tournament, sophomore Adelaide Shunk impressed tallying 31 assists and six digs in the Mammoths’ three matches.

Katie Bergamesca ’18 Staff Writer The Amherst women’s volleyball team (149) had a successful homecoming weekend, picking up two wins and one loss during the 26th Annual Volleyball Hall of Fame Tournament at LeFrak Gymnasium.

Although the Mammoths began the tournament by losing 3-2 to Wellesley College, the hosts responded strongly on Saturday, winning against both Coast Guard Academy and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI).

On Friday, Amherst lost a tightly-contested five-set match against Wellesley (25-23, 13-25, 15-25, 25-12, 13-15). After winning a close first set, Amherst could not contain Wellesley’s overpowering offense for the next two stanzas and fell into a 2-1 deficit.

The Mammoths rebounded, though, winning the fourth set to push the match to a decisive fifth frame. Ultimately, Wellesley managed

to just eke out a 15-13 win in the fifth set to clinch the victory.

Despite the loss, several Amherst players put in great performances. On the defensive side, Hayes Honea ’19 and Asha Walker ’18 were dominant, contributing 21 and 17 digs, respectively. On the offensive side, Marialexa Natsis ’18 contributed 17 kills, while Charlotte Duran ’20 and Adelaide Shunk ’20 added 28 and 17 assists, respectively.

On Saturday, during the second day of tournament play, Amherst picked up two wins in dominating fashion.

In the first game of the day, Amherst cruised to a 3-0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-22) win against Coast Guard (14-11). The Mammoths’ dominance against Coast Guard was best shown by the fact that Amherst never trailed during the first set. Although Coast Guard fought back in a close third set, Amherst closed out the Bears in straight sets.

Emily Kolsky ’20 and Natsis led the Mammoths with 10 kills each. Honea and Daria Kim-Percy ’21 led Amherst defensively, collecting 13 and 10 digs, respectively.

In the second game of the day, and final match of the tournament, Amherst continued its strong play and defeated WPI 3-1 (25-21, 25-23, 15-25, 25-23). The match against WPI was a more tightly-contested affair than the day’s earlier match, with Amherst winning its three sets by a combined margin of eight points.

The Mammoths’ performance against WPI was highlighted by impressive performances from Kolsky and Duran. Kolsky was named to the All-Tournament Team after contributing 23 kills in the game, which was nearly half of the Amherst’s kills in the entire match. Duran also tallied 44 of Amherst’s 50 assists.

Playing at home during Homecoming with strong support from fans played a role in Amherst’s strong showing during the Hall of Fame Tournament.

“The opportunity to play at Homecoming is always exciting,” Natsis said. “[It] really inspires our team to step up their game and play for their teammates and school.”

The Mammoths will now turn their attention to Bates and Colby in the final weekend of NESCAC play.

Amherst will host Bates on Friday, Oct. 27 and Colby on Saturday, Oct. 28 in LeFrak Gymnasium.

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Sebastian Derby ‘21E

Emily Kolsky ’20

Favorite Team Memory: Beating Rutgers-Newark in overtime after their racist remarks towards one of my teammates Favorite Athlete: Chicharito Dream Job: Owner of a soccer team Pet Peeve: When people chew with their mouths open Favorite Vacation Spot: Holbox, Mexico Something on Your Bucket List: Skydiving Guilty Pleasure: Eating cereal with no milk Favorite Food: Tacos Favorite Thing About Amherst: Being able to combine high-level academics and soccer.

How He Earned It: Derby had a flash of greatness this weekend in men’s soccer’s 4-1 win over Weslyan. Less than ten minutes inot the match, Derby socred two goals within 31 seconds of eachother.

Derby recieved stellar service from fellow first year Felix Wu on the first goal, and and assit from Weller Hlinomaz ’18. Derby has scored one other goal on the season, an overtime game-winner against Rutgers.

Favorite Team Memory: Beating Williams for the second year in a row Favorite Athlete: Misty May-Treanor Dream Job: A career that combines art history, business and travel.

Pet Peeve: People who chew too loudly Favorite Vacation Spot: Hawaii or Wyoming Something on Your Bucket List: Skydiving Guilty Pleasure: Binge watching Netflix with a box of English toffee Favorite Food: Sushi or In-and-Out Burger Favorite Thing About Amherst: The close sense of community How She Earned It: Kolsky was named to the all-tournament team for the Hall of Fame Invite, hosted by Amherst this past weekend. The sophmore outside hitter contributed 23 kills in the team’s victory over WPI, which constituted almost half of the Mammoths’ kills the entire game.

Kolsky also recorded ten kills in the Firedog’s win over both the Coast Gaurd Academy and Wellesley.

Men’s Soccer Defeats Wesleyan and Farmingdale State Over Homecoming

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

This past weekend showcased Amherst’s prolific offense as the team tallied nine goals in total.

Jenny Mazzella ’20 Staff Writer

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Senior Marialexa Natsis helped the Mammoths’ strong showing at the tournament with 34 kills and 8 digs.

Over homecoming weekend, the Amherst men’s soccer team faced off against a pair of opponents, NESCAC rival Wesleyan and nonconference foe Farmingdale State College. The Mammoths managed to emerge with two home wins, scoring nine goals over the course of the weekend and improving to an overall record of 10-2-2.

Amherst came out firing on Saturday against the Cardinals, with Sebastian Derby ’21 scoring twice in the opening 10 minutes of the match.

Assisted by Felix Wu ’21 and Weller Hlinomaz ’18, respectively, Derby managed to notch both goals within 31 seconds of each other. The Mammoths managed to hang onto the 2-0 lead for most of the first half, but Wesleyan cut their lead to one in the 38th minute. The Cardinals’ Nick Jackson scored an unassisted goal, which seemed to shift the momentum in Wesleyan’s favor.

However, Fikayo Ajayi ’19 crushed any Wesleyan hopes with a goal in the final minute of the half, his third tally of the season.

Aidan Murray ‘18 scored the final goal of the match in the 74th minute of play. Fellow senior Aziz Khan played Murray through on goal with a delicate pass, and Murray fired a shot past the Cardinals’ keeper. In addition to the win, the

Mammoths celebrated their eight seniors — forwards Murray, Khan, Hlinomaz, Kieran Bellew, midfielder Sam Malnik, defenders Cameron Hardington and Alden Von Ziegesar and goalkeeper Lee Owen.

Amherst followed up Saturday’s win with a dominant 5-0 victory over Farmingdale.

The Mammoths got on the board within the first minute of regulation, as a Rams defender shanked the ball sending it into the back of his own net. Following the Rams’ own goal, four different Amherst players recorded goals to secure the commanding result. Bijan Zojaji ’20, Lee Owen ’18, Matteo Mangiardi ’21 and Khan all got on the board, demonstrating the depth of the Mammoths’ offense.

The team utilized their bench in the second half to retain some element of freshness and protect their starters from injury. In net, Will Dunne ’20 made three saves to earn the shutout.

However, the Mammoths didn’t rest on their laurels for long, quickly turning their attention to a key conference clash against Trinity this coming week.

“Trinity is a really important game,” Dunne said. “We’re feeling really good right now, and it would be great to head into the postseason coming off a big conference win.”

Amherst faces the Bantams in Hartford on Wednesday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m.

The Amherst Student • October 25, 2017

Sports

11

Men’s Tennis Wins Pair of Singles’ Brackets at Wallach Invitational Matthew Sparrow ’21 Staff Writer This past weekend, the Amherst men’s tennis team wrapped up its fall season at the Wallach Invitational hosted by Bates College.

The Mammoths had seven singles entries across four different draws and won two of them thanks to Sean Wei ’21, who won the A bracket, and Kevin Ma ’21, who won the C bracket. Amherst also sent three doubles teams to Maine, highlighted by the pair of Nathan Kaplan ’20 and Zach Bessette ’19, which advanced to the finals of the A bracket.

In the singles A bracket, Amherst had two of the top four seeds, with Wei at number one overall and Bessette and number four. Both cruised past their first round opponents in straight sets, losing only ten games between them.

While Wei managed to battle through to the semifinals after beating Tufts’ Zain Ali 6-1, 7-6 (4), Bessette fell in a heartbreaker to another Jumbo, Rohan Gupte, 7-6 (6), 7-5. Wei then advanced to the finals after a dominant 6-4, 6-0 semifinal victory over Jackson Kogan of Brandeis and clinched the championship with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Kyle Wolfe of Bowdoin.

Kaplan and Ethan Hillis ’21 were the Mammoths’ two representatives in the B bracket but didn’t find as much success as the A participants.

While Kaplan won his first round match against Vid Yadav of Bates, Hillis fell to his first opponent, Tufts’ Boris Sorkin, 6-4, 6-2.

Kaplan would eventually lose in the quarter-

finals after a back and forth 6-7 (11), 6-4, 10-2 loss to David Aizenberg of Brandeis.

The C singles bracket was similarly dominated by Amherst, as the pair of Ma and Jayson Fung ’20 met in the finals after dispatching some of the NESCAC’s top talent.

While Ma never lost more than two games in any set, Fung survived a battle against Justin Patel of Bowdoin in the quarterfinals, emerging victorious by a score of 7-6, 5-7, 16-14. Finally, in the D singles bracket, Oliver Kendall ’19 lost in the first round to Jonathan Hallal of Colby.

On the doubles side, Amherst entered two pairs in the A bracket. While Fung and Wei disappointed with a close 9-7 opening round loss to a Bates duo, Kaplan and Bessette made a run all the way to the finals, posting an 8-6 upset win over the top-seeded Bowdoin team of Grant Urken and Luke Tercek along the way. While they eventually lost to Anupreeth Coramutla and David Aizenberg of Brandeis, it was still a successful tournament for the young duo.

Meanwhile, in the B bracket, Hillis and Ma fell in an tight 9-8 (4) match to a Greenwood and Berghuis of Bates.

With a successful end to their fall campaign, the Mammoths will have plenty of momentum and confidence heading into the spring portion of the schedule as they try to win their first NESCAC title since 2014.

“We’re growing together as a team and heading in the right direction,” Ma said.

Amherst will resume play in March, when the team will travel to California as part of its annual Spring Break trip.

Photo courtesy courtesy of of Clarus Clarus Studios Studios Photo

Midfielder Caroline Feeley ‘18 notched a goal in Amherst’s win over Smith.

Field Hockey Notches Pair of 3-0 Routs Against Smith and Wesleyan Jenny Mazella ’20 Staff Writer After two disappointing losses last week to NESCAC rivals Bates and Colby, Amherst bounced back this week with victories against Smith and Wesleyan. On Thursday, Oct. 19, Amherst traveled to Smith, where the Mammoths easily handled the hosts, winning by a final score of 3-0. Amherst dominated all facets of play and held the advantage in total shots (24-1), shots on goal (18-0) and penalty corners (15-0).

While Amherst controlled most of the game, the Mammoths struggled to get on the score board during the first half of play, entering the half still tied at 0-0. However, during the second half, first-year Anna Agathis scored her first collegiate goal off of an assist from Mary Grace Cronin ’18 to secure the lead for Amherst. Twenty minutes later, first-year Francesca Daniels also scored her first collegiate goal, assisted by Elizabeth Turnbull ’18, to put Amherst even further ahead. With less than thirty seconds left to play, Caroline Feeley ’18 scored again for Amherst, putting home the rebound off of a Kendall Codey ’19 shot to clinch the 3-0 win.

Katie Savage ’19, taking the place of injured sophomore Emilie Flamme, earned her first win in goal for the Mammoths, not needing to

make even a single save. Cronin led the Mammoths in shots taken with four, while Agathis and Turnbull tallied three shots apiece.

On Saturday, Amherst won its fourth consecutive Little Three crown by defeating NESCAC foe Wesleyan 3-0. Amherst began the game strongly, with Codey scoring the Mammoths’ first goal just four minutes into play.

Wesleyan blocked an initial shot from Turnbull, but Codey managed to score off the rebound. Codey then turned provider for Amherst’s second goal, feeding a beautiful ball to Shannon Tierney ’19, who gave the hosts a 2-0 lead. Turnbull finished the scoring for Amherst, taking advantage of a penalty corner to score the team’s third goal of the afternoon.

Turnbull and Codey led Amherst in shots on Saturday, with each making four.

Savage made one save to earn the win on Senior Day, during which the team celebrated the class of 2018. Forward Katie Bergamesca, captain Caroline Feeley, forward Mary Grace Cronin, captain Caroline Fiore, midfielder Sloane Bessey and captain Elizabeth Turnbull were all heartily cheered on.

With these two wins, Amherst improves its overall record to 10-4 and its conference record to 5-4. The Mammoths will close regular season play on Wednesday, Oct. 25 with a conference tilt against Trinity before starting post-season play next weekend.

Football Wins Homecoming Game in Fourth Quarter Heart-Stopper Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

The Mammoths dominated in singles play, winning two of four brackets.

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Talia Land ’20 Staff Writer Homecoming weekend was overall a smashing success, especially for the football team, which avenged last season’s loss against Wesleyan with a thrilling last-minute victory. Students, faculty and a great number of alumni gathered on an unusually warm fall afternoon Saturday to watch the Mammoths take on the Cardinals. With the victory, Amherst improved its season record to 5-1, while Wesleyan fell to 4-2.

The Cardinals were the first to get on the board, capping off an 81-yard drive with a 19yard field goal at the 2:05 mark of the first quarter. Wesleyan struck again soon after the ensuing kickoff. Shayne Kaminski intercepted a pass at the Amherst 31-yard line, ran along the right sideline, returning it for a pick-six and a 10-0 lead. However, the Mammoths would not be quiet for long, as they were given excellent field position for their next drive thanks to a 37-yard kickoff return by Avery Saffold ’20.

A 24-yard rush by Jack Hickey ’19 put the Amherst on the Cardinals’ 32-yard line. Quarterback Ollie Eberth ’20 then capped off the drive with a beautiful fake handoff that gave him a massive hole to run right into the end zone for a 12-yard rushing touchdown with 14:45 to go in the second quarter.

The next 20 minutes of the game were scoreless, with neither team gaining much momentum until the 9:20 mark in the third quarter. Capping of a six-play, 67-yard drive, Wesleyan’s Piccirillo barreled into the end-zone for a two-yard run, making the score 17-7 in favor of the Cardinals.

With hope seemingly lost, Hickey scored his sixth touchdown of the season — a team high — on a six yard run to cut the deficit to just three

points after a successful John Rak ’19 extra point attempt. With neither team able to muster much for most of the rest of the quarter, the game came down to the last few minutes. Hasani Figueroa ’18 took the handoff from Eberth at the Amherst 49yard line and exploded into a sprint past the Cardinals’ defense for the winning touchdown, with just 1:27 remaining on the clock.

The Mammoths closed out the game with some stellar defense, notably first-year Rob Monachello’s clutch seven-yard sack to push Wesleyan back to the Amherst 40-yard line and force a third-and-17 play. Two incomplete passes for Wesleyan closed out the game and allowed Amherst to take a knee for the last play and leave the field with a 21-17 victory.

The Mammoths dominated the rushing game, out running Wesleyan 150-68. Eberth had an impressive game for Amherst, going 10-for-16 from the pocket and leading Amherst’s rushing attack with 56 yards and a touchdown. Bo Berluti ’19 also had a huge day, notching a total of 147 yards on nine catches.

Defensively, Amherst had several standouts.

Andrew Yamin ’19 had a great game, recording 12 tackles, including eight solo and 5.5 tackles for loss, in addition to 4.5 sacks. For his dominant effort, Yamin was named NESCAC defensive player of the week and now holds a commanding lead in the NESCAC sacks category, with his 11.5 five more than the next closest challenger. Complementing Yamin’s career day, Andrew Sommer ’19 notched seven tackles on the day and 1.5 sacks, while Greg Franklin ’20 chipped in six tackles and another 1.5 sacks.

The Mammoths’ next game is away at Tufts, on Saturday, Oct. 28 where they will seek to push their season record to 6-1 and make up for last year’s performance against the Jumbos.

Sports

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Hannah Guzzi ‘18 leads the NESCAC in scoring this year, registering 11 goals and one assist for a total of 23 points over the course of the season.

Women’s Soccer Downs Wesleyan to Extend Win Streak to Four Games Katie Bergamesca ’18 Staff Writer The Amherst women’s soccer team extended its win streak to four and its unbeaten streak to six with a victory over the Wesleyan Cardinals in the Mammoths’ sole match-up of the week on Saturday.

The win came at a crucial time in the season, as the Mammoths needed to top the Cardinals in order to secure a spot in the upcoming NESCAC tournament. Saturday also marked Amherst’s homecoming and the team’s Senior Day. The stands were packed with alumni as the team’s four seniors — co-captain Meredith Manley, co-captain Delancey King, Hannah Guzzi and Allison Neveu — were honored before stepping onto Hitchcock field for one of

GAME SCHE DULE

the last times of their careers.

Wesleyan was first to get on the board, knocking the ball past junior goalkeeper Chelsea Cutler 17 minutes into the first half to give the visitors a shock 1-0 lead.

Rubii Tamen ’19 was quick to answer, however, netting a goal of her own just two minutes later.

As time ticked off the clock, it seemed as though the contest would head into the half tied at 1-1.

At the 38:01 mark, though, Natalie Landau ’21 found the back of the net. Landau proceeded to score two more goals within the next five minutes.

Thanks to Landau’s first collegiate hat trick, which occurred in a remarkable four-minute span, the Mammoths went into halftime with a comfortable three-goal cushion.

WED FRI Women’s Soccer @ Trinity, 4 p.m.

Field Hockey @ Trinity, 6 p.m.

Men’s Soccer @ Trinity, 7 p.m.

Volleyball vs. Bates, 8 p.m.

The Cardinals managed to notch one more goal in the second half, but the visitors from Middletown were unable to make up the deficit Landau’s goals had created, and Amherst left the field with a 4-2 win that served a testament to the team’s determination.

“Things were undoubtedly tough for a good bit there at the beginning of the season, but we have totally managed to shift the momentum this past month and the results have shown that we’ve picked it up,” Manley said.

“While we might look like the underdogs on paper, I know this team is capable of going far.”

For her performance in the Wesleyan contest, especially her hat trick, Landau was named the NESCAC player of the week for the first time in her Amherst career.

The Mammoths were scheduled to play Tuesday against the Trinity Bantams, but the

SAT Men’s Soccer @ NESCAC Tournament Women’s Soccer @ NESCAC Tournament Men’s Cross Country @ NESCAC Championship, noon

Women’s Cross Country @ NESCAC Championship, 1. p.m.

Football @ Tufts, 1 p.m.

Volleyball vs. Colby, 2 p.m.

game was cancelled due to inclement weather.

With the win over Wesleyan, Amherst improved to 8-5-1 overall on the season and managed to hit .500 in NESCAC play with a 4-4-1 record.

As the statistics currently stand, the Mammoths have been the highest scoring team in the NESCAC this year, posting the highest average goals per game statistic at 2.79.

Guzzi is the leading individual goal scorer and points scorer in the conference, firing home 11 goals over the course of the season to give her an impressive 23 points on the year.

The Amherst women will look toward preparing for the impending NESCAC playoffs which begin on Saturday, Oct. 28.

Amherst finished the previous year’s tournament as champions and will look to repeat this year.