Issue 7

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Campus Community Reacts to Recent Allegations Articles Spark Debate About the Handling of Sexual Misconduct Cases

Photo Courtesy of Barry Scott

On Oct. 19, students rallied outside the Board of Trustees meeting at the Lord Jeffery Inn to demonstrate the importance of sexual respect and speak out against the culture of silence and other forms of institutional violence.

Ethan Corey ’15 News Section Editor Last Wednesday, Oct. 17, former student Angie Epifano shocked the campus and sparked a heated discussion about sexual respect with her personal “Account of Sexual Assault at Amherst College� published in The Student, which described her experience with the administration and counseling center after being sexually assaulted in May 2011. Since the publication of her story, students and other members of the College community have attended vigils in support of survivors of sexual assault, debated the College’s policies on the treatment of sexual misconduct and consent, participated in rallies and meetings to build a movement for change and attempted to carry on with business as usual as the College fell under the scrutiny of national media outlets like

The Huffington Post, Salon and Jezebel.

The article came on the heels of open forum organized in response to a post Dana Bolger ’14E

by ACVoice discussing a sexist t-shirt made by off-campus fraternity Theta Delta Chi (TDX) last spring for their annual Bavaria cook-out. At the meeting several ‘action steps’ were announced to improve sexual respect on campus, including student membership on the Title IX committee, a review of penalties for those found responsible for sexual misconduct and improvements in support for survivors of sexual assault.

In response to Epifano’s account, President Carolyn Martin released a statement reading in part: “In response to her story, still more accounts of unreported sexual violence have appeared in social media postings and in emails I have received from several students and alumni. Clearly, the administration’s responses to reports have

left survivors feeling that they were badly served.

That must change, and change immediately.�

AAS President Tania Dias ’13 also released a statement, which expressed her sadness and support for Epifano and invited students to come to a ‘Healing Fire’ vigil on Memorial Hill in support of survivors of sexual assault. The vigil, which was an annual event already planned by the Peer Advocates of Sexual Respect before the publication of Epifano’s story, drew several hundred students and other members of the College community who came to offer their support and listen to survivors’ stories, poems and calls for solidarity with Epifano and other survivors of rape or sexual assault. Analena Alcabes ’13, a Peer Advocate for Sexual Respect and organizer of the Breaking the Silence support group who helped organize the vigil, was pleased with the turnout, noting that this year’s vigil saw significantly higher turnout

than similar events in the past.

On Friday, Oct. 19, Dias and nine other students met with the Board of Trustees to offer criticisms about the College’s sexual misconduct policy and suggestions about changes to improve sexual respect at the College. Dias appointed the students to the informal group – which will be replaced by a more permanent group later this week – to represent a variety of perspectives while still ensuring that representatives could speak knowledgeably about the issues.

Dias explained: “My goal was to bring to the meeting a cross-section of the student body, while also including students who could speak to issues of sexual assault and related student-life issues on campus. Our group included representatives from the survivor community, support and alliance groups, athletic teams, the Committee on Discipline and fraternities. I knew that each of these students could offer valuable and unique perspectives on the nature of sexual misconduct at Amherst and on how our social life may contribute both to that problem itself and to the broader phenomenon of the culture of silence that many students feel discourages survivors from speaking out and thus enables sexual disrespect and assault to continue.�

However, some students thought the group was not representative of all voices on campus.

Alexa Hettwer ’13, a resident counselor at the Zu and an advocate of sexual respect on campus, felt the group excluded viewpoints that may have been more critical of the administrations and the Trustees. “The selection process felt very manufactured and a lot of people who had stronger views didn’t know where they could voice their opinions. People were responding to the students who came forward and said the meeting was successful, but some people I talked to after the meeting who seemed like they were smiling when they came out, actually said they were not satisfied with what occurred,� Hettwer said.

Continued on Page 3

Students React Positively to Grab-N-Go

Jessie Kaliski ’15 Contributing Writer

Last week, 777 different students went to the atrium of Keefe Campus Center to “grabâ€? a bagged lunch and “goâ€? to class. Although the menu changed daily, students could pick either an entrĂŠe sandwich/wrap or salad (one of which was a vegetarian item), choose three additional snacks — chips, pretzels, popcorn, fresh fruit or a dessert — and finally choose one beverage. “The intent is to provide a product that will present fresh, made of quality, ingredients with a good perceived value from our students,â€? said Jeremy Roush, Amherst College’s Executive Chef.

Amherst Dining Services has “been researching [the Grab-NGo] program on and off as to what other schools are doing,� said Charles Thompson, Director of Amherst Dining Services.

After the College heard from students that there was an interest in this type of program, the Grab-N-Go trial period made its debut. “We realize that the volume of students, dining at specific times and the size of Valentine can create challenges with a student’s schedule, especially at lunch,� Roush said.

In the past, Dining Services redesigned the service areas, stations and menus in an attempt to tackle of problem of long lines. “Now the Grab-N-Go concept may provide us another opporContinued on Page 2

Peter Mack ’15 Staff Photographer

By the end of last week, 777 different students had tested the Grab-N-Go lunch option.

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News Entries from Oct. 17 to Oct. 22, 2012 >>Oct .17, 2012 1:01 a.m., Pond Dormitory A caller reported an unusual odor, which might have been the odor of gas, in a thirdfloor suite. The area was checked with a meter, and no problem was found. The odor dissipated. >>Oct. 18, 2012 10:14 a.m., Johnson Chapel An officer responded to a fire alarm and found it was accidentally activated when a cover was removed from a detector. The system was reset. >>Oct. 19, 2012 2:31 a.m., East Drive An officer investigated a man who was acting in a suspicious manner. The man, who had no association with the College, was identified and directed to leave campus. >>Oct. 20, 2012 3:43 a.m., James Dormitory A caller complained about a loud group of men in the courtyard. No one was found when the officer arrived.

6:52 p.m., Crossett Dormitory An officer discovered alcohol in the basement and confiscated it.

9:29 p.m., King Dormitory Officers investigated a smoke detector sounding in a first-floor room and discovered it was activated when hair spray was used too close to it. The system was reset.

10:10 p.m., Pond An officer discovered an unauthorized party in the basement. Alcohol was confiscated. The group of students that had gathered left the area.

10:36 a.m., Stone Dormitory An officer discovered an unauthorized party in the basement. Alcohol was confiscated. The group of students that had gathered left the area. >>Oct. 21, 2012 1:00 a.m., Crossett An officer encountered a man, who was identified as a student from a neighboring college, urinating outside of Crossett. He was warned about his actions and sent on his way.

1:16 a.m., Pond Officer confiscated alcohol from a party in a second-floor suite.

1:34 a.m., Crossett While in Crossett, an officer encountered an underage student with beer. He was identified, and the matter was referred to the Dean’s Office.

1:40 a.m., The Lord Jeffery Inn Officers responded to a complaint of intoxicated person under a tent near the Lord Jef-

fery Inn. No one was found upon arrival.

1:43 a.m., Crossett While in the social dorm quad, officers observed something, possibly beer, being thrown from a third-floor window. They spoke to the residents of a third-floor suite, which had windows open, but no one responsible was identified.

1:49 a.m., Crossett An officer found the latch on an emergency door taped down. The residents were fined $100 for tampering with a safety device.

2:10 a.m., Crossett An officer observed two men place a tote bag behind the rear tire of a car parked near Crossett and walk away. The men, who said they were visitors, claimed the bag belonged to an Amherst student who asked them to hold it for her. They claimed they became separated from the woman so they left the bag where it could be found. The bag was taken by the officer for safekeeping.

2:39 a.m., Hills Lot An officer checked on a vehicle being operated in a suspicious manner. The driver, who is not associated with the College, was identified and sent on his way.

3:07 a.m., Hitchcock House An officer responded to a complaint of loud music and issued a warning at a first-floor room.

3:24 a.m., Rental Housing Units An officer checked on an open door at a Hitchcock Road address. The home owner was notified, and a check of the house found nothing amiss.

4:28 a.m., Seelye House An officer assisted a local food delivery business with a dispute involving an Amherst College customer.

10:32 a.m., Dakin House Officers responded to an intrusion alarm and discovered that three people, who are students at a neighboring college, gained unauthorized access to the house. They will be summoned to court for the illegal entry.

9:03 p.m., Frost Library An officer investigated a call placed from the elevator emergency phone. No problem was found.

10:42 p.m., Cohan Officers responded to a complaint about an unauthorized party in the first-floor common room and shut it down. >>Oct. 22, 2012 12:39 a.m., The Octagon An officer checked on several people observed on the fire escape. They were students and were sent on they way.

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Grab-N-Go Offers Alternative Lunch Option Continued from Page 1 tunity to help with the issue,” Roush said, “so the ability to analyze it is very valuable.”

Dining Services has also considered the packaging of the lunches during the Grab-NGo trial period.

“It was important to us too that we limit ‘packaging’ and provide a container that is environmentally responsible. We were able to find packaging supplies that are fully compostable and can support a multitude of menu items,” Roush said.

So far, students have responded positively to the test period, commenting on both the great food and the convenience of the program.

“I thought the food was great, and it was really convenient,” Jaya Tripathi ’14 said.

“I tried Grab-N-Go on Thursday and had a really delicious salad,” sophomore Idalia Friedson said. “ It was also quicker than Val is during rush periods. I think it’s a great option for those who don’t have time to sit down for lunch during the week.”

But even for those who do have time to sit down and eat lunch, the Grab-N-Go program allowed students to enjoy their lunch outside of Val. “I really enjoyed the Grab-N-Go option

because I could finish an essay as I ate lunch.

It’s also nice because it gives us the option to eat lunch outside,” senior Kristen Moulton said.

The “Grab-N-Go” lunch trial period will end this Thursday, Oct. 25. To determine its future, Dining Services will review collected data and student comments and feedback. “How has this test program affected students’ schedules? Has it been helpful in some way? How has this program affected the lines during lunch in Val?” are questions that Thompson hopes the data will reveal.

“If a Grab-N-Go program were to become a reality, the menu choices would probably be expanded but structured similarly; you would have a choice of entrée and then a choice of a certain number of accompanying items,” Thompson said.

However, if the program were to move forward, the location would not remain in the atrium of Keefe, which was kindly loaned to Dining Services by Dean Hannah Fatemi for the test period.

Although Thompson noted “several extra labor hours per day have been required by our current staff in order to conduct this test,” he believes the enthusiasm from the students might be worth the extra time.

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News 3

Thoughts On Theses: Elodie Reed

Major: English Thesis Advisor: Karen SanchezEppler

Q: What is your thesis about?

A: My thesis is a creative nonfiction piece on foster care. It’s about my family’s and my experience with foster children, how we’ve learned to navigate that, my personal take on what it’s like, what the issues are that need to be solved and what I’ve seen.

Q: How did this idea come about?

A: Over my four years as an English major, I found myself increasingly interested in nonfiction and memoirs. I just really like reading about people’s experiences and connecting to them. So, I wanted to do that kind of writing myself and I got to last year in a composition class. It was great,

but I didn’t know if I really had anything to write about—something bigger than a three-page paper. Then, more and more, I talked to my parents about foster care because they did it while I was away at college, so I didn’t really always know what was going on. They started communicating with me more. More and more I realized the foster care system is inadequate right now. The more I experienced it and the more I was home and got to interact with these kids and see how the system treated them and treated my family, I just felt like there needed to be more literature about it and people need to know more about it.

Often memoirs that are written about foster care are written by the children themselves or the parents, but there is no perspective from the biological sibling. I thought it would be interesting to add that perspective.

Q: How long have your parents been taking in foster kids? How many have they taken in?

A: They started doing it when I came to college,

so in 2009. I think they’ve had 11 kids. It’s kind of blurred because they take kids for a couple nights who need respite care, but they also take kids for a long time (they’ve had a kid for a year and a half).

They just stopped this past summer. They needed to move on to other things, but I think it’s been 11.

Q: What have been some of the high points so far?

A: I love having an advisor who I can go talk to about my writing. That’s all we do and it’s really awesome. I feel really spoiled. Usually you don’t get to just talk about your writing with one person like it’s their job. I like the fact that I enjoy working on my thesis. It’s very motivating for me to know that I like writing and learning how to craft my voice, how to pick out what’s important, what’s going to be important for the readers and learning how a bigger story gets put together.

Q: Any low points?

A: It’s been a little hard to write with comps com-

ing up, but so far not really. I spent last summer reading lots of memoirs and personal experiences of foster care, and a lot of them were not well written, so I wanted to try to change that. I’m hoping my writing is coming across as good writing and is well put together. I guess any low points would just be me realizing that my writing in the past has not always been great. But I’m learning how to do a better job with it.

Q: Any advice for people thinking about writing a thesis?

A: Yes: start early. It’s been a lot easier not having to do a ton of research at the beginning of the semester. I’ve just been able to start writing, which is really fun. Also, don’t do it unless you have something you are really passionate about and something that makes you want to work on it. This would be so much less fun if I didn’t really like my topic.

-by Alissa Rothman ’15

Students Rally for Change in Sexual Misconduct Policy Continued from Page 1 Liya Rechtman ’14, a member of the group that met with the Trustees, felt that although these criticisms had some merit, the group was still a success.

“We only had 10 spots and we wanted to represent as broad a group as possible. For the sake of putting very well-educated people from different perspectives into conversation with each other, we wanted to pick really specific people. Structuring something that way is always going to be imperfect, but I could give you reasons why each and every member of this committee was picked,” Rechtman said.

The group of 10 was joined on its walk from Frost to the Lord Jeffery Inn, where the meeting was held, by a rally organized by students to ‘End the Culture of Silence.’ Hundreds of students from the Five Colleges marched in the rain carrying posters and umbrellas and chanting ‘What do we want? Dialogue! When do we want it? Now!’ which later changed to ‘What do we want? Action! When do we want it? Now!’ Upon reaching the Lord Jeffery Inn they gathered outside to show solidarity with the students meeting the Trustees and to pressure the Trustees and the administration to increase transparency and enforce its policies on sexual misconduct.

Hettwer, who attended the rally and also participated in the early planning stages, said that school needed more than a policy change to stop sexual assault.

“I really think that people were interested in raising larger questions than just achieving certain policy changes. I think a lot of people recognized that the policy in place isn’t the heart of the problem, but that its enforcement by the administration has been shameful. This is more than just tinkering with policy; it raises serious questions about the direction and inclusiveness of the College in the future,” Hettwer said.

Each member of the group of 10 brought specific issues and concerns with them to the meeting, but together they determined several key points to discuss with the Trustees. The group focused on reviewing the disciplinary hearing process to remove potential obstacles to victims coming forward, improving resources for survivors and changing the College’s culture to promote sexual respect. They also suggested incorporating material on sexual respect into first-year seminars, evaluating the alcohol policy for unintended consequences on safe drinking and allowing students to meet with Gina Maisto Smith, an independent expert on sexual misconduct hired by the College to review the College’s Title IX and sexual misconduct policies and search for solutions.

Josh Mayer ’13, a member of the Committee on Discipline who was among the group of 10, said that changing the school’s disciplinary procedures for sexual assault was one of his priorities.

“It does create bad situations on campus to have students and faculty on a hearing board in cases of sexual misconduct specifically, although not in other cases. If you would like to take a course with a faculty member in the future or even just interact academically – which is almost unavoidable in a school like Amherst – it could be troublesome in an academic relationship. In terms of students, as a student sitting on the committee, I have seen two cases where I knew the complainant, and this is such a small community that it can be hard to avoid even with all the safeguards against it,” said Mayer.

The group of 10 raised several problems with the College’s resources for survivors of sexual assault and sexual respect in general, noting the small size and poor location of the Women’s Center, the inadequacy of the Counseling Center and the lack of a full-time sexual assault counselor.

Rechtman noted that many survivors were often referred off-campus for treatment because their cases were too difficult for the Counseling Center to handle.

“In many ways,” Rechtman said, “Angie’s case is the exception to the rule; other survivors have had their own experiences. However, issues with the Counseling Center are a pretty universal experience with survivors.”

President Martin agreed that resources for survivors needed to be improved, and as a short term measure brought in counselors from Harvard University’s McLean Center to support students and faculty and supplement the Counseling Center’s capacity to deal with sexual assault.

“I agree with students that our resources are not adequate. I have talked to the Board since last spring about my own assessment and the need for more resources in the broad area of student life, including counseling for both survivors of sexual assault and students generally that need support for whatever reason,” President Martin said. “I want a counseling center – perhaps even an accredited counseling center – that can offer more to the College. By more I mean outreach and educational programming that makes the counseling center more central to the educational mission of the College.”

Despite the current inadequacy of resources for survivors on campus, there are still places survivors can go for help.

“We [the Peer Advocates] are separate from the administration and from Title IX and all the things people have been talking about. We’ll hold your hand through all of that,” Alcabes said. “Our job is not to tell you whether to press charges or to go to a hearing. Our role is to help you do whatever you want to do and offer unconditional support.”

Lena Budinger ’15, co-president of the Gender Justice Collective and member of the group of 10, said that solutions to sexual misconduct also needed to take place on the level of culture.

“It’s really important that we look at everyday

social interactions and see how these are affected by power dynamics and sexual respect. One thing is just calling people out, which is really hard. You should call people out and you should let others call you out on what you’re saying,” Budinger said.

Hettwer, however, thought that aspects of the College’s culture made it especially prone to sexual violence and other forms of misogyny.

“The prevailing culture [at the College] is a lot more conservative than other liberal arts colleges, and because we went co-ed so late there is a lot of lingering privilege that is really kind of appalling,” Hettwer said. “It’s hard too because it’s the kind of stuff that people hear about and experience and there aren’t direct ways that we’re encouraged to report this to the administration. For example, there is stuff like (sports-teams-related) scavenger hunts and ‘f***-it’ lists that are pretty self-evident examples of viewing sex as competitive and object-oriented.”

President Martin also identified problems on the cultural level, focusing on communal responsibility and addressing the relationship between drinking and sexual violence.

“We can work hard to build a community in which people act responsibly towards each other, where everyone agrees they will not be a passive bystander, and I think it’s important for us to talk as a community about the relationship between excessive drinking and sexual violence. There too I think it’s important that we commit to not just being a passive bystander because it does lead to inappropriate behavior,” President Martin said.

However, some members of the group of 10 felt that the College’s recent crackdown on beer pong and drinking in common spaces has had unintended consequences that are often counterproductive.

“We realize there’s a connection between sexual assault and alcohol consumption, but we also realize there’s a connection between college campus life and alcohol consumption. We felt like the alcohol policy is having unintended consequences, which leads to stricter enforcement of policy in places that are easy to enforce like Marsh, as opposed to the Socials, and we felt like the places that are easiest to enforce are also the safest to have parties, because they’re well lit and open and have a clear community. The way the alcohol policy is currently being enforced actual hurts survivors and promotes sexual assault on campus,” Rechtman said.

The group of 10 also pushed for closer adherence to the College’s Title IX obligations and standards of best practice. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex at any institution receiving federal funding. Until recently, however, many colleges and universities, including the College, did not adhere to ‘best practice’ procedures with regards to sexual violence. In April 2011, the Department of Education released the ‘Dear Colleague’ letter, which outlined best practices for

the handling of sexual violence cases. Since then, President Martin has begun taking steps to bring the College in line with best practice standards.

“I think the College can do better. I think we need greater clarity on policies, procedures and practices. I think we can do more on community building and cultural change so that we are working on the side of prevention, not simply reacting.

In terms of how incidents are handled, again, we need clarity and we need to address several areas that students have told us might stand in the way of having them report sexual misconduct or violence,” President Martin said.

Despite the ground covered in the meeting, some students were unsatisfied with the results, noting that the Trustees had not committed to any definite course of action and had only expressed some interest in the group of 10’s suggestions.

“Following it I was pretty unsatisfied; people were pretty quick to walk away. Even though there was a call to say ‘this isn’t the end of it,’ there was definitely a feeling that it was a victory and that we had done our job, and I and a few other people were pretty upset by that since nothing really concrete was coming out of it,” said Hettwer.

“Nothing solid has actually been promised, so I don’t think we should automatically celebrate, and furthermore we really need to think of this as values and consciousness and implementation and a lot more than something we just put on paper.”

Some students were also upset that neither the administration nor the Trustees spoke to the rallying students after the meeting, noting that President Martin, the only administrator to speak at all, had only asked them if they liked the cookies provided for them by the Lord Jeffrey Inn. “I purposefully deferred to students who met with the Board because I thought that was the respectful thing to do. They were courageous to come forward and they did a fantastic job articulating their concerns and requests and engaging in a very interesting discussion with the Board about a range of issues. I thought given that this was a rally in support of those students, the most appropriate thing would be to have them speak rather than having me put myself in the forefront.

If that was a mistake, then I certainly regret it and I’m happy to speak with students anytime and any place that I can make myself available,” President Martin said.

In addition, the College has set up a webpage outlining steps taken to combat sexual violence and describing future plans to promote sexual respect and improve resources for survivors. A meeting is scheduled for sophomore, juniors and seniors Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 8:30 p.m. in Kirby Theater to discuss sexual respect at the College, and the group of 10 is holding an open forum to discuss the results of their meeting with the Trustees on Thursday, Oct. 25 at 5:00 p.m. in Chapin Lounge.

Opinion

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Editorial

Making A Difference These past few days have been the moment of student journalism and expression at Amherst. Students published their accounts and expressed their points in various publications and columns. From The Student, The Indicator, AC Voice and student blogs of all kinds, the voice of students rang out for calls to action — and action came to campus in force. After Angie Epifano’s account (“An Account of Sexual Assault at Amherst College”) went viral, President Martin reached out to the Amherst community within less than 24 hours of our publication. The Trustees who had just arrived on campus received word of the shifting winds and started calls for an investigation. Student groups issued statements and began organizing, student leaders from the Five Colleges led a rally on campus while forming an organic delegation to meet with the trustees.

Within days of students reaching out through campus publications, campus discourse changed, sexual-assault interest groups made an example of Amherst College and international news organizations looked into the inner workings of our campus. Because of students reaching out and breaking stories, the image of the College had completely changed across the world — ask any prospective college student what Amherst now means to them.

Student journalism and expression is important, and it’s a self reinforcing cycle.

For days, social media networks reblogged, retweeted and reported not only Epifano’s account, but all the related stories reported in the Amherst news grapevine, including the TDX story and the student photo project about sexual disrespect. One student’s writing about misogyny, bolstered more students to discuss their experience sexual assaults, which prompted others to come out about their own encounters with survi-

vors or the culture at Amherst, sometimes reaching out to online national news blogs.

As we’ve noted before, The Student and other publications exist in an environment somewhat unfavorable for campus journalism — publications lack an academic department dedicated to journalism, a large student body to draw from and meaningful administrative support. But one of the largest barriers is that students tend to be reluctant to reach out. Amherst, with its many talented and articulate writers, should not shy away from reaching out to its publications, especially if they have a particular voice that needs to be heard.

The editors and staff writers of The Student only represent a small portion of experiences and viewpoints. However, we — and every other student publication — are more than willing to offer the platform for the diverse experiences of every other student, be they about sexual assault, mental health or any other issue dealing with campus life, culture and College administration, to be brought out in the open and spark the kind of dialogue that the articles written by Epifano and Dana Bolger (regarding the tshirt sold by an off-campus fraternity) did.

Given the demonstrated effect of campus publications, disengaging from them constitutes a lost opportunity for meaningful change to occur by those who claim to seek it.

It can be difficult to attach one’s name to one’s public opinion given the intimate nature of our small campus community. But if enough students come forward, and the administration supports students’ doing so by providing the environment for student engagement with their publications, students can make a change that betters Amherst for their peers and successors at Amherst, leaving a mark on the campus as they pass through.

Letters to the Editor A group of faculty has written the following letter to the students of Amherst College. For the full list of the 14 authors and 128 signatories, visit amherststudent. amherst.edu.

We are deeply saddened and upset by the recent disclosures of sexual misconduct and violence at the College. It is not only that acts of sexual violence have occurred that troubles us. It is the further injuries that students have suffered after these acts that also concern us.

We are writing to express our deep support for all who have been affected by this in any way. We are also troubled that the College has failed you.

We are committed to working towards effective solutions to the many problems that you have faced and continue to face. We call for an end to the culture of silence. None of us can function in an environment of mistrust and fear. Trust and respect are essential for teaching and learning. We are teachers, and as teachers we realize we have much to learn from our students.

We urge any and all of you to come talk with us — as a college, we can only find our way through this together.

We are committed, in the coming months and years, to building a climate of safety, respect and ultimately, trust. We know we have much work to do to make Amherst the college that it should be, a place of mutual respect and trust.

We realize that nothing can change the past. But as we face the future, know that we stand with you and we will come through this together.

President Carolyn “Biddy” Martin writes in to update the student body.

This is an extraordinary time at Amherst College, one that demands all of the resources we can muster, both from within our community and from outside.

In an effort to ensure that all members of this community (students, faculty and staff) have the resources they need to feel safe and supported, I am bringing to campus Stephanie Pinder-Amaker, Ph.D., Director of College Mental Health Programs at McLean Hospital, a nationally renowned mental health treatment center in Belmont, Mass. Dr. Pinder-Amaker and a team

of experts from McLean will arrive in Amherst this evening and will be with us from tonight through the weekend, and possibly beyond, to offer their services.

More information on how, when and where to meet with Dr. Pinder-Amaker and her team is forthcoming.

I encourage students to make use of this team. We are also organizing additional educational programming.

To improve communications with the community, our new Sexual Respect website was launched today.

The link is: https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/ sexual_respect. It prominently features policies and actions which have been requested, and some of which have already been taken. The website is new and does not yet include all the ideas that are under consideration. It has a suggestion link to allow all community members to offer solutions and ideas. It also has an action checklist to hold us all accountable.

As you know, we asked an outside consultant, Gina Maisto Smith, a partner at Ballard Spahr LLP, to review the College’s Title IX and sexual-misconduct policies and practices and provide recommendations. This review is on-going and will inform the work of the Title IX Committee. Ms. Smith is also reviewing the college’s response to the student whose first-person account was printed in The Student last week.

I am in the process of forming a special committee that will include faculty, staff, students, alumni and trustees to help assess our needs and oversee the process of change. This committee will make recommendations to me, and I, in turn, will report to the board in January. Addressing sexual misconduct and violence could not be a higher priority. I thank our students for coming forward and demanding action; I encourage them to continue to do so. Amherst College should be a model of education, prevention and effective response.

William A. McClung, Executive Director of the Theta Delta Chi International Fraternity writes about the group on campus identified as Theta Delta Chi. The off-campus group that styles itself “Theta Delta Chi” is not affiliated with Theta Delta Chi International Fraternity. Theta Delta Chi has no chapter at Amherst College. We deplore their improper use of our name.

Editor’s Note:

An Open Letter To President Martin and the Trustees This letter was signed by 240 students and alumni. The unabridged version of this letter, along with names of signatories, is available online at amherststudent.amherst.edu.

As the discussion regarding Amherst College’s policies on sexual respect develops on campus, we urge the College to evaluate its broader institutional commitment to student well-being — a commitment that includes, but is not limited to, reforming administrative policies regarding sexual misconduct.

Angie Epifano’s courageous and horrifying account of her sexual assault and its aftermath highlighted several problems with the way in which the administra-

E X E C U T I V E B OA R D Editor-in-Chief Brianda Reyes Managing News Alissa Rothman Managing Opinion Erik Christianson, Meghna Sridhar Managing Arts and Living Nicole Chi, Clara Yoon Managing Sports Emmett Knowlton, Karl Greenblatt

tion handled a case of not only sexual misconduct, but also student mental health. We write to express our concern that Angie’s experience in attempting to work with the school and its available resources for the sake of her psychological well-being is not a singular case of mishandled student distress, but in fact represents a broader collection of negative student experiences with the College’s current mental health resources.

Many of us have experienced or know someone who has experienced first-hand the failings of our school’s resources to respond appropriately or helpfully to our own or our friends’ mental health needs. Shortly after the publication of Angie’s story, many stu-

dents began to come forward with their own accounts pertaining to their experiences primarily with the Counseling Center, but also with members of the Dean of Students Office. Some of these stories have been collected below, and we wish to share them with you: 1.) “[The Counseling Center] told me I was ‘too much to handle’ and that I should stop coming.”

2.) A student who served on the Mental Health Task Force with “two of the counselors...was always immensely frustrated, offended and saddened by their attitude toward students. They were constantly defensive, denied that there was any problem with the Counseling Center’s operation, and refused to have

S TA F F Design Editor Brendan Hsu News Section Editor Ethan Corey, Siyu Shen Opinion Section Editors Diana Babineau, James Liu, Julia Milmed Arts & Living Section Editor Annalise Nurme Sports Section Editors Varun Iyengar

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any constructive discussion about what could be better — even in the face of substantial evidence of student dissatisfaction.”

3.) “As an RC...I felt a great deal of discomfort knowing that the service to which I was referring students was the Counseling Center. I saw some residents for an hour or more every week for months on end — essentially taking on the commitment of a therapist — because other resources had failed them, or because I did not feel confident in the available resources’ ability to help these students.”

4.) A student struggling with an eating disorder decided to seek help from the Counseling Center at the beginning

of February. The student was told that there were no openings for the rest of the semester and that s/he would be put on a waiting list. Two weeks later, the student was placed on medical leave for four semesters.

5.) A student who met with a dean for help with family problems, panic attacks and severe anxiety was told to purchase a day planner, insinuating that the student was just trying to get out of doing work.

6.) Many students voiced concerns about Amherst’s policies on sending students home on medical leave, with some admitting that they are afraid to talk about their problems fully, for fear Continued on Page 6

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The opinion pages of The Amherst Student are intended as an open forum for the Amherst community.

The Student will print letters under 450 words in length if they are submitted to The Student offices in the Campus Center or to the paper’s e-mail account (astudent@amherst.edu) by 12 p.m. on Sunday, after which they will not be accepted.

The editors reserve the right to edit any letters exceeding the 450-word limit or to withhold any letter because of considerations of space or content.

Letters must bear the names of all contributors and a phone number where the author or authors may be reached. Letters and columns may be edited for clarity and Student style.

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The Amherst Student is published weekly except during College vacations. The subscription rate is $75 per year or $40 per semester. Subscription requests and address changes should be sent to: Subscriptions, The Amherst Student; Box 1912, Amherst College: Amherst, MA 01002-5000. The offices of The Student are located on the second floor of the Keefe Campus Center, Amherst College. Phone: (413) 542-2304. All contents copyright © 2011 by The Amherst Student, Inc. All rights reserved. The Amherst Student logo is a trademark of The Amherst Student, Inc. Additionally, The Amherst Student does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or age.

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A Message From Your PA A Personal Letter to Biddy +BDLJF $PTTF Peer Advocate for Sexual Respect I’m a Peer Advocate of Sexual Respect.

That title means a lot of different things to different people. Some people will say, “They’re like the SHEs, aren’t they?” Some people will say, “Oh they did a workshop in my dorm once.” Others will say, “They helped me so much,” or, as I hear once in a blue moon: “The what? PAs? We have something like that on campus?” My freshman year it meant an opportunity to make a difference on the campus I’d just stepped onto several weeks prior, to fight against something that truly needed change.

I joined the PAs in the October of 2010. Now, it’s October again, but this time it’s 2012. And with everything that has been going on this past week, from the article in The Student, to the rally, to the press from Jezebel and the Huffington Post, I, along with the rest of the Peer Advocates want to say — we’re here. As students, we see the conversations that have been happening, and we see the hurt and confusion affecting this campus. But we are also here as a resource on campus, to listen, to connect you with every support system and resource you need and to stand by you and be absolutely committed to doing whatever we can in our power to help.

We apply to be PAs. There’s an application, an interview process and a training session over interterm, filled with everything from understanding the process behind the SANE (sexual assault nurse examiners) exam that collects evidence regarding sexual assault, to understanding on and off campus disciplinary and legal options and knowing emotional support options, content information on relationship abuse, sexual assault, harassment, bystander intervention, consent and the intersection of sexism with other forms of oppression as it impacts sexual violence. We hear from experts within their fields who come to teach us and give us the tools we need to deal with difficult experi-

ences. We practice talking over and over again, and role play with each other.

And then we get out into the real world. We use our training experiences. We talk to students, or friends of students about everything from the “romantic to the traumatic.” We rotate the PA hotline, each of us for a week, so that we can be available to you 24/7, with a back up of a different gender if needed. We are prepared to talk with students right after they’ve been assaulted too, making sure to help them navigate their emotional experiences, and also to mention things like emergency contraception, STI testing and SANE exams.

But we’re here. To listen, to help in whatever way we can and to support you. As trained Peer Advocates, and as fellow students too. We’re people your age, people with a student’s perspective of this campus and everything that surrounds it. There are also other people here on this campus who can be resources, several of whom I’ve listed at the bottom of this letter (including off-campus resources) so that people do know that there are options out there.

This campus, and its culture, policies, views and actions when it comes to sexual assault still have a long way to go, as most college campuses do. Even one sexual assault is one too many, and until that number reaches zero, I’ll continue to be a part of the movement to live in a world without sexual violence. But as of now, it still happens here — even at Amherst College. And to have those voices heard, supported and validated is one of the most important things I think that we can do as students on this campus.

List of resources: Center for Women and Community: (413) 5450800; Peer Advocate of Sexual Respect 24/7 Hotline: (413) 548-6798; Sexual Respect Counselor: (413) 658-5675; Dean of Students Office: (413) 542-2337; University Health Center Urgent Care: (413) 545-5000; Title IX Coordinator: (413) 5428266

Alexis Myers Contributing Writer My name is Alexis, and I’m a former Mount Holyoke College student. In 2011, I was raped at Amherst College and went through the disciplinary hearing process.

I would just like to personally thank you for being so open and willing to change both the Amherst College disciplinary hearing process for sexual assault cases and the overall culture at Amherst College. It seems misogynistic and rape culture has been a long-standing problem, not just at Amherst College, but all over the world.

I am writing to you in response to Angie Epifano’s recent article in The Student. I’m sure you have been receiving many emails regarding this article and I am glad you have been so responsive.

However, I felt compelled to write to you because her story triggered much emotion and brought back many memories. On Feb. 26, 2011, during my freshmen year at Mount Holyoke College, I was raped by an Amherst College acquaintance at King Hall. I ended up reporting this incident to both my school and Amherst College and had a disciplinary hearing on Sept. 25, 2011. At first I thought that the rape was the worst day of my life.

However, I was far from right. I have more flashbacks about this hearing than I do about my rape.

I was appalled that Amherst College handled the matters in my case with extreme insensitivity.

The main problem with the hearing is that the disciplinary hearing committee (made up of three Amherst College students and two Amherst College faculty members) was not informed as to what rape is. They may have been “previously trained;” however, this was far from apparent. My rapist submitted 80 pages of our personal Skype conversations to the disciplinary hearing committee. Throughout the hearing the committee would constantly refer to these conversations when in reality only three (if any)

pages were actually relevant to the situation. The only pages that were relevant were the ones that talked about the actual incident and the night that it happened. However, the disciplinary hearing committee was extremely focused on the nature of our relationship and the reasons why I could have “made this up.” Rape is about the actual incident and the violation that occurs to a human being. It doesn’t matter their previous relationship or how they know each other. Rape is rape. I recall a student on the disciplinary hearing committee asking me a question about if I hadn’t wanted to “have sex” with my rapist, why was I sitting on his bed a couple weeks prior? After a couple long seconds Dean Allen Hart deemed the question as “not relevant to the case.” Nonetheless, this is exactly my point. If the student truly had knowledge about what sexual assault and rape are he would not have asked this question. In matters that are so serious and life changing, it is of utmost importance to have people who actually know the nature of what they are dealing with. Additionally, a professor from your institution framed a question very insensitively asking if I had just thought what had happened to me was rape because “my friend had told me.” If she also understood what rape is she would know that oftentimes rape is not something you want to think happened to you.

It is a horrific thing to happen to someone and changes your life forever. Suddenly when you become raped there is a stigma against you and you are put in the “victim” category. It is hard to admit someone was raped because who wants to have power and control taken away from him or her?

Who wants to feel that someone can violate them in such a violent and brutal manner? Rape brings out many emotions, such as shame, guilt and fear.

Thus, I encourage you to have trained professionals dealing with this manner. Both of these comments are the main sources of my flashbacks to this day. It is not what my rapist said in the hearContinued on Page 6

You Are Not Alone: Voices from Boys Will Be Boys: Last Thursday’s Healing Fire Taking Responsibility "MJ 4JNFPOF Speech given during the Healing Fire held on Thursday, Oct. 18th 2012.

My name is Ali Simeone, and I’m a Peer Advocate of Sexual Respect. I want to let you all know that the Peer Advocates are here to support you through your experiences; we know this past week has been especially trying — please don’t hesitate to talk to any of us. Also, I am a co-facilitator for Break the Silence, a support group for Survivors of Sexual Disrespect. If anyone needs to speak to me about these issues, I am a resource.

In light of all the sexual disrespect awareness at Amherst College these past few weeks, many people have had their eyes opened, maybe even pried open, to the sexual misconduct that occurs on campus.

Awareness about sexual disrespect — from seemingly innocuous remarks and misogynistic tshirts to rape, harassment, abuse, stalking and assault — are incidents that need to be talked about.

We need discussion; we need to face negative aspects of our culture, even if it hurts.

Awareness can make us face what we don’t want to.

Sometimes, with the pain of awareness comes the pain of regret, shame, doubt and fear.

Sometimes, there’s a voice inside that says: Why couldn’t I speak up?

I should have said something.

Why didn’t I choose to do more?

Why can’t I talk about what happened?

Though crucial to understanding and processing our own experiences with sexual disrespect, in any form, these questions can become poisonous. These questions can break us down, make us feel helpless, make us feel less than because we just couldn’t do what someone else did.

I think our college works under this overarch-

ing belief sometimes: What am I not doing? What should I be doing? He/She/They are so put together.

Why can’t I be like that?

And with issues of sexual disrespect, this is especially dangerous because there is a culture of silence.

We’re afraid to open up, and when someone else does, we are ashamed we can’t do the same.

As a Peer Advocate and as a member of the Amherst College community, I see this mindset all too often — and I, too, limit myself and discredit myself in some capacities for what I feel like I could not do in terms of my own experience with sexual disrespect.

But this is unhealthy, unhelpful and can cause more harm than not.

Let’s change this. Right here, right now.

Let’s change the frame from: I can’t. I shouldn’t. I didn’t…to, what can I do to help myself? What can I do to help other people?

We must understand as a community that healing is an individualized process. All too often, we deny ourselves the ability to heal because we don’t accept what we can do for ourselves. Understanding ourselves and what we can do is ultimately necessary to our well-being as students, and as people in this community.

After this emotionally tumultuous week, honor and respect those that have spoken up about sexual misconduct and disrespect. Honor their bravery and their courage to speak and shed light on serious problems that have occurred here. Honor their healing processes — but please don’t forget to honor yourself. Honor the fact that you have the courage and the bravery to help yourself as well, in whatever form that will take. You as an individual are supported and loved. Love yourself and accept that healing can take time, and there isn’t one set way to do it. You have to find what can help you — and that in itself is the bravest thing you can do.

3ZBO "SOPME Contributing Writer Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed and contributed to a conversation emerging within the student body (and engaging the school’s faculty) about sexual disrespect and assault. A lot of the focus of the discourse has been on the clear need for systemic and administrative change.

However, I think that this ongoing conversation presents us with an opportunity to modify the way the men of Amherst think about sex and, more broadly, about our own gender.

First, I’d like to talk about victim blaming, an attitude that is perhaps more implicitly than explicitly present on this campus (misogyny has become rather uncouth in elite academia since Lawrence Summers quit Harvard), but is still present nonetheless. Blaming victims of sexual assault for their assault is offensive to me on two levels: I think the belief that anyone would ever willingly do something to invite violation, fully aware of this invitation, is nothing short of cruel; but more deeply, this line of arguing implies that the male gender is so base and primitive that they just can’t help themselves from raping — that the biological impulse toward sex is so strong in men that it eclipses all other functions.

Victim blaming encapsulates a larger social belief that the onus ought to fall on the woman to not get assaulted (as if she has some kind of control over it). I think it would be a lot better if we held the perpetrators of sexual misconduct accountable for their actions — “teach men not to assault.” But what does it mean, what would that lesson look like? We men of Amherst are in a unique position — because our gender is (9 times out of 10) the one that assaults, we have considerably more agency in shaping that lesson

than the victims.

The overwhelming majority of sexual assaults on college campuses involve the consumption of alcohol. I think that men need to acknowledge that alcohol diminishes the capability to read and interpret social cues, and that there is risk present in this — it’s dangerous to not be able to understand what other people are trying to communicate to you (this advice isn’t necessarily male-specific, but it’s gendered in the interest of my larger point).

There’s a difference between attraction and objectification — to objectify someone is to deconstruct him or her to the most basic of all observable traits, to center the loci of identity and worth singularly on his or her capacity to give or receive sexual pleasure. I hear objectifying speech all over campus, and I’m sure that I’ve been guilty of it in my own life; it’s the messy mode of cultural thought we’ve been socialized into. But by acknowledging the larger implications of such a reductionist interpretation of human beings — namely, that men are desensitized to women through objectifying thought and speech — we can, as a community, move closer toward a place of equality and safety.

The things I’ve presented here are not new or radical thoughts, and I believe some parts of them go without saying. My goal isn’t to chastise or berate the men on this campus — not all men are rapists (or even rapists in waiting); further, we didn’t elect to be born men. But I am challenging you, the men of Amherst, to examine our presence on campus, to interrogate the ways in which we are privileged and to understand that the actions of some hurt us all. What do you value? I’m challenging you to think about what kind of a man you want to be. I’m challenging you to do better.

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Mental Health Resource Reform A Five College Perspective Continued from “ An Open Letter” of being sent home. For some students, being sent home to recuperate is not a solution to their problems; in fact, home can be an unstable, dangerous place and a main source of their problems.

We hope that our inclusion of these accounts does not detract from cases in which the Counseling Center and the administration have made the right decisions. We cannot claim to speak for all students and acknowledge the ease with which these anecdotes could be written off as a merely a few bad cases. However, we respectfully urge the College not to do so — particularly given our understanding that the Mental Health Task Force (a group commissioned by the Dean of Students office) conducted numerous student focus groups, and that a broad theme of dissatisfaction with the College’s mental health resources emerged in the task force’s findings, in addition to an understanding that similar concerns were raised following Jenny Kim’s suicide in 2008. Amherst College has an obligation to provide for the mental health of its student body, and we hope that further steps taken toward meeting this obligation will not be built upon expediency and evasion, but rather upon community-wide respect and cooperation. Therefore, we would like to make the following preliminary recommendations to the administration in hopes that they may lead to concrete policy changes: 1.) We call for a thorough and transparent evaluation of the Counseling Center, the services it offers and its

personnel. While internal reviews may have occurred in the past, neither findings nor subsequent changes have been made public to the student body or the alumni community. Greater transparency and oversight will be necessary to change students’ negative perceptions of a valuable on-campus resource.

2.) We call for additional resources to be allocated to the Counseling Center and other support programs in order to make mental health services more accessible for all students. One or more new counselors specializing in post-traumatic treatment would be invaluable in encouraging survivors of sexual assault to seek help from the Counseling Center. Likewise, a general increase in staff and service hours, especially during traditional “off-hours” like evenings and school breaks, will expand appointment availability and ensure that health resources are available during the times that students are most in need.

3.) We invite students, faculty and staff to a public discussion regarding the College’s mental health resources and the larger perception of mental health problems within the community as a whole. Amherst College has a diverse student body. Our shared enrollment at Amherst does not grant us a single, shared understanding or experience of mental health, and we believe it will be beneficial to the community as a whole to have an honest dialogue about psychological well-being. We understand that President Martin has called public meetings, and we laud her efforts on this front.

We hope that through the discus-

sions suggested in our final recommendation, we will work as a community to direct our attention to not only policy, but also culture. At elite institutions such as Amherst, and in our nation in general, we face many challenges presented by a prevailing culture of silence and pressure to maintain a façade of perfection. We are aware that students are often uncomfortable speaking out about struggles with mental health, partially for fear of being labeled inadequate and their experiences dismissed as a part of the “Amherst experience.” Students who seek help from the Counseling Center or elsewhere should be commended rather than disparaged for having the courage and presence of mind to recognize that they need assistance. To this end, we must encourage the growth of a culture in which all Amherst students can live free from shame or guilt for speaking up and seeking help for their own psychological well-being. Noting the paramount importance of faculty involvement in efforts to reshape the Amherst culture, we hope that this support will come in part from cooperation of the faculty community.

We strongly support the efforts the administration has made to address issues of sexual respect, and we hope that this energy will carry forward in efforts to improve the way the College handles the broader issues of mental distress on campus. The challenges that we are facing today are by no means unique to Amherst, but we are in a unique position to stand up and come together for who we are as a community and where we want to be.

Continued from “ A Personal Letter” ing (as I wasn’t allowed to hear anything), but what “neutral” Amherst College representatives said to me. After the disciplinary hearing committee interviewed me, I remember shaking and crying to my Dean of Students (who I brought with me as my “advisor”) and my disciplinary hearing officer, who worked at Amherst College, saying over and over again, “They just don’t understand. They don’t understand what rape is.” This is not the kind of reaction rape victims/survivors should ever have before, during or after a disciplinary hearing.

Another critique I had of this hearing was the use of character witnesses. I am not sure if your institution still does these or not; however, I feel in sexual assault cases as serious as these, character witnesses should not be allowed. A great, wonderful person can do horrible things and a horrible person can do great and amazing things. Who is to judge anyway? These are all subjective and I believe these witnesses add no value whatsoever to these cases. Additionally, I feel that it is best for those participating in the hearing to be facing the hearing committee instead of each other. Part of the reason I chose a disciplinary hearing officer (besides the fact that I did not want to be completely retriggered, which happened anyway due to the committee’s questions) was because I did not want to look my rapist in the face after everything that he did.

However, when it was my turn to speak he was placed on a video camera via Skype on a computer, which was right in front of me.

Having his face that close to me was too much for me to handle and was completely insensitive of the nature of this case.

I chose the disciplinary hearing officer route, as I had a court-ordered harassment

prevention issue against my rapist. I am beyond thrilled to hear that future students will be able to hear everything that is being said during the hearing, as I felt that only being able to hear my side and not being able to hear any of his side put me at an extreme disadvantage.

As a Five-College student, I felt extremely disadvantaged, as I felt that I was stepping on Amherst College “territory.”

How dare I accuse an Amherst College student? However, I already felt unsafe at Amherst College because of what happened, so if anything, I was trying to do a favor for both Amherst College and the Five-College community. A student had taken advantage of me in a way that I would never wish upon anyone. Throughout the whole hearing process, I was constantly attacked. In addition to working with the Amherst College community, I more than urge you to work with the Five-College community on this issue as well. If the Five Colleges are truly a “consortium” students from all of these colleges should be informed as to what the process is and feel good about the process. My experience was not good and discouraged outsiders who heard my story from choosing this course of action because of the second victimization that your institution issued upon me.

On Sept. 26, 2011, I decided to transfer from Mount Holyoke College. Not because I no longer loved my school, but solely because of the way your institution handled an incident that I am lucky to be alive from. It takes a lot for a victim/survivor to not only come forward, but to actually go through with a hearing. I hope in the future, students will not be discouraged by this hearing process and will not have to feel so unsafe, unsupported and revictimized by an institution.

Arts&Living

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Experiencing the Magic of Meredith Monk Andre Wang ’14 Staff Writer

Image courtesy of meredithmonk.org

Her eclectic inspirations and breadth of talent make Meredith Monk a rarity in terms of the organic, transformative and playful quality of her live performances.

Watching Meredith Monk was a dream come true for me. Indeed, her concert had the rare magic of teleporting me from the Buckley Recital Hall to imaginary landscapes: when she performed parts of “Songs from the Hill” (1977), I was watching her at the top of a mountain in New Mexico under the scorching summer sun, where the music was born. And when her voice bounced with the piano keys in “Traveling,” I felt like a kid hopping along a grassy path in a vast open land, bounded only by the snowy range from afar.

Maybe this should not be a surprise: born in Lima, Peru in 1943, Meredith Monk is among the transformative artists of the past half century whose works fuse music, dance and design that have their audiences braving new heights. For Monk, this characterization is almost literal: her closing performance of the night, composed for the grand opening of Ann Hamilton’s Oliver Ranch Tower in 2008, was initially performed by her vocal ensemble as they walked up the 78-foot tall double helix stairs. Titled “Fathom,” the piece was solemn and quiet, proceeding with an acknowledgement of space.

In Saturday’s concert, Monk stood still, her red dress a flame on the stage tinged with ocean blue, her voices churning the air into clear gel. The drones of her Shruti box, an Indian instrument which sounds like a singlekey accordion, evened the soundscape

on which Monk built the vocal rises and falls.

A versatile artist of avant-garde performance, Monk moved across moods and styles with ease, shuffling sounds from the unexpected. Opening the night with an early work from “Juice” (1969), a deliciously unpredictable play of composition, she jumped to a series of short jovial pieces. After a perky rhythm of tongue clicks, she dived into the next pair of songs, largely inspired from insects. Heaviest with movement, the two performances blended in hints of absurdist humor and awkward theatricality, inviting much laughter.

The rest of the first half of the concert followed suit: Monk kept an airy, upbeat tempo when performing her wowing duets — those between the tongue and the vocal cord. An audience after the show compared the contrasting textures of the hums and clicks to “apple pie and ice cream.” I was thinking of coffee and milk, but the idea is the same: that Monk interwove percussion and melody in a harmonious and utterly intriguing way. Her concert similarly shifted between her calm, sincere stories behind her artistry and her wild, raw energy that electrified the space even when her breath vibrated like gusts of wind before a storm in “The Prairie Ghost,” one of the more eccentric and ominous songs performed that night.

If the strictly a capella performances in the first half of the concert showcased Monk’s signature vocal works, her music for piano and voice in the

second half testified to the range of territories she has covered during her illustrious career. “Choosing Companions,” which takes excerpts from “ATLAS: An Opera in Three Parts” (1991), sketched the contours of a young girl who chooses her mates based on their ability to sing harmonies for her tunes.

Inspired by 9/11, “Last Song” from “Impermanence” (2004) played around words of ending, only with a bit much labor and slumber. “Gotham Lullaby” (1975) oozed solitude and somberness, while “The Tale” (1973), by far the most lighthearted and comedic, pulsated like the choppy steps of frolic little girls but spoke from the elderlies on the decline. My favorite of the night, however, was “Madwoman’s Vision” (1998): a musical epic about a prophetic woman’s life in the Middle Ages; the work fantastically encompasses the various colors and types of sounds she masters while never failing for even a moment to push the tale forward. Paradoxically intimate and distant, her performance galvanized my imagination and kept me at the edge of my seat.

For me, Monk’s remarkable ability to command her audience by the simplest acoustics is what makes her both a visionary and a legend. Seldom does an artist set out for such task: with nothing other than a raw, organic voice, occasionally with instruments but always with a fearlessly majestic mind, she came to deliver performance at its finest. Her power is marked with purity, animation and more than anything, authenticity, which makes her live performances such a delight.

A Guide On How To Enjoy Classical Music Owen Marschall ’15 Contributing Writer I’m very excited for the Amherst College Orchestra’s upcoming season, because they’re playing two of the greatest pieces of music ever written: Beethoven’s 5th Symphony and Mahler’s 5th Symphony. Of these two, you’ve probably only heard the former. While the latter is one of Mahler’s better-known works, it is still quite obscure in comparison to Beethoven’s 5th. I want to convince you to not only go to the concert featuring Mahler’s 5th, but also to go prepared. It might seem odd to write about a concert so far in advance, but the kind of preparation I’m advocating requires more than just a week.

Let’s talk about obscurity and ubiquity in classical music. Ubiquity is really the exception, not the rule. You can find the 20 or so pieces of classical music anyone has ever heard on a Sporcle quiz, and only some of them are actually considered “great pieces” by music aficionados. That leaves out the hundreds/thousands (whatever) of masterpieces the general public doesn’t know particularly well. Mahler’s 5th is one such masterpiece.

But even if the word “masterpiece” intrigues you, don’t just show up to Buckley expecting it to blow you away in the same way that Beethoven’s 5th will. If you go to both concerts with-

out any preparation, I predict you will love Beethoven’s 5th and be bored by Mahler’s 5th. In fact, you don’t have to take my word for it. Look up both pieces on YouTube, and give the first movement of each piece a listen. I’m sure you’ll like Beethoven’s 5th much more.

Why is that? Is it because Beethoven’s 5th is just better? I guess that’s a reasonable explanation: Beethoven’s 5th is really the only good piece of classical music out there, which accounts for both why you like it and why you hear it everywhere in pop culture. Mahler’s 5th isn’t really that good, which is why you’re bored by it and why you never hear it anywhere (except for the adagietto in “Death in Venice”).

That explanation is incorrect.

Mahler’s 5th is just as catchy as Beethoven’s 5th, but you haven’t listened to it enough to hear its beauty.

I use the word “catchy,” because in my experience it’s the only word I can possibly use to describe a great piece of music without people associating it with the intellectual, academic appreciation of classical music — which some people seem to think is the only way to enjoy it. If I say a piece is “beautiful,” it’ll be interpreted as some abstract beauty of form and symbolism that you can only understand if you’re a very experienced listener. However, if I say it’s “catchy,” people know what I mean: it sounds good like how most normal songs sound good. With this

diction comes the risk of selling the music short, for “catchy” songs are often regarded as unsophisticated or shallow, but I certainly don’t mean that. To get just a little philosophical, I would argue that, qualitatively, the type of pleasure you get from “Bad Romance” and from great pieces of classical music is the same, but, quantitatively, the pleasure you get from the latter is much stronger and more powerful.

The caveat, however, is that to get this greater enjoyment out of classical music — or even any enjoyment out of it — you must know the piece well, and the only way to do that is to listen to it over and over again. That’s hard to do, because the first few listens are boring, and it’s all too easy to give up at that point and put on your favorite Beatles song. It takes a little bit of blind faith — listening to a piece of music you’re getting nothing out of on the hopes that you’ll maybe like it after hearing it the seventh time — but I promise it’s well worth the effort.

Let’s go back a couple paragraphs: why is it that, right now, you like Beethoven more than Mahler? Is it that Beethoven wrote better music?

No, here’s the better theory of causality: Beethoven’s 5th is well known and Mahler’s 5th is not, for complicated reasons that don’t matter, and you like Beethoven’s 5th more precisely because you’ve heard it more. This

Image courtesy of bach-cantatas.com

Mahler’s symphonies can be just as pleasurable as popular music — they just require a few more listens. music is complex, and it takes several listens to actually hear the melodies — yes, catchy melodies just like in those songs by bands that everyone likes so much. Terrible mash-ups and movie soundtracks have already prepared you for the Beethoven component of this season, but no one has prepared you for Mahler. Only you can prepare yourself for Mahler, and it’s incredibly easy: search on YouTube, go on Spo-

tify, buy a CD (just kidding) or somehow gain access to some performance of Mahler’s 5th Symphony. Put it on in the background while you do your homework, and your brain will gradually process it for you. Over time and over many repeated listens, you will start to hear everything as a melody, and then on May 4, the Amherst College Symphony Orchestra’s live performance of it will blow your mind.

8 Arts&Living

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For Affleck, Argo is Three for Three Jake Walters ’14 Staff Writer “Argo” is the second of the handful of year-end films carrying with them heavy loads of Oscar buzz and attempting to bring home the hearts of film-goers and, more specifically, the Academy Awards come February. Following “The Master,” the result of a five-year toil of the director whose previous film was perhaps the most critically acclaimed of the last decade, hype for “Argo” was comparatively restrained. With two stellar efforts behind him, director Ben Affleck still likely hoped this film would shake off some of the vestiges of the ever-persistent fan-boy hate factory criticisms aimed at his acting (some of which was admittedly deserved).

While Affleck has certainly proven that he doesn’t need to take these accusations seriously by this point, the

Film Review “Argo” Directed by Ben Affleck Written by Chris Terrio Starring: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston and John Goodman

real question for many is still simply: Does he succeed?

Following “The Master,” “Argo” is in some ways its polar opposite.

There are a variety of reasons for this, but they can be best illustrated by my experience of viewing the two movies. When the end credits appeared for “The Master,” I was treated to silence as everyone sat in their seats for several minutes, followed by a man ahead of me off-handedly saying “What?” and some of the audience laughing in sympathy. When the lights for “Argo” came on after, the audience roared with applause and numerous people vocally showered accolades upon the film. The audience reaction to “Argo” is the most positive I’ve ever experienced when leaving a theater.

Now, this doesn’t mean that the two films are necessarily different in quality — just that they are tremen-

Image courtesy of imdb.com

“Argo” is so carefully-crafted that its less-than-stellar acting and characterization hardly detract from its nuanced directing. dously different. “The Master” is a clinical, labyrinthine, intellectually stimulating examination of loneliness that doubles as a masterpiece of visual and aural technique. In other words, extremely rewarding for those willing to explore every crevice of the film, but not exactly a recipe for instant gratification. “Argo,” while still something of a slow burn, crackles with tension, paranoia and excitement. It’s directed with plenty of flair, but of the type which serves a more immediate purpose than PT Anderson’s use of the subjective camera in “The Master.” It tackles a complex issue with enough depth to appease high-minded film-goers without confusing audiences. It’s patriotic in a level-headed rather than jingoistic way, it details a little known but heroic effort within a much-remembered and heated time in modern world politics, and, if that wasn’t enough for 10 or 12 Oscar nominations, it one-ups itself by tying the making of a fake science fiction film into the heroic operation, thereby implicitly reaffirming the heroism of the film industry and those involved with it.

During the late 1970s, tensions in Iran steadily increased as revolutionary fighters grew more and more committed to questioning and combating the Pahlavi dynasty’s rule over Iran, something that ultimately led to a revolution in 1979. While the impacts of this are far-reaching, for many Americans at the time, mentioning Iran brought only images of the U.S. embassy in Tehran which had been overtaken in response to

the U.S.’s cooperation with the Shah and its financing of the Shah’s actions against the Iranian revolutionaries.

What was not known at the time, however, was that six staff members at the embassy had escaped and were hidden in the nearby Canadian consulate, and that a cooperative U.S.Canada operation was underway to rescue them. Headed by CIA Agent Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) and his fictional supervisor Jack O’Donnell (Bryan Cranston), this mission required complete secrecy for everyone not directly involved in it. Many options were suggested, but ultimately the CIA turned to Hollywood, and most specifically make-up artist John Chambers (John Goodman) (aided by the fictional Lester Siegel, played

by Alan Arkin, in the film). In order to rescue the hostages, the CIA would have to make it seem as if the hostages were involved in the film “Argo,” the only problem being that “Argo” didn’t exist. In order for the operation to succeed, the CIA would have to make it seem as though it was just another in the long line of post-“Star Wars” films popular during the science fiction film craze of the late 70s and early 80s, and both the American people and the Iranian government would have to believe this.

What’s most immediately noticeable about “Argo” is how effectively it conveys its time period, from the Cold War paranoia to the sci-fi craze to everything in between. Befitting of its quality, Affleck never stoops so low as to have everyone walk around

in Afros or bell-bottoms, and thankfully there’s not a disco in sight.

“Argo” presented a far more believable picture of the time period than most films. This really enhances the sense of verisimilitude and makes the opening 15 minutes, which harrowingly detail the takeover of the American consulate by Iranian protestors, all the more sobering. Adding to this is Affleck’s steady-handed yet often flashy direction, as he’s likely learned a few more tricks over the past couple years and is more comfortable showing off behind the camera even when he knows he shouldn’t in front of it. Even more importantly, while “Argo” never lets politics get in the way of what is at heart an escape thriller, it details the complex morality of the situation with enough nuance that one doesn’t feel like the film is biased. Early on, when a fellow employee remarks about how violent the protestors were in taking over the

us “ that“Argo”...reminds intelligence and fun don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

”

consulate, a CIA employee bluntly responds: “What did you expect? We helped kill their family and friends.”

“Argo” probably won’t win any awards for acting, but there isn’t a loose link in the bunch. Affleck is fairly restrained, but it makes sense for his role and — thankfully — shows he understands the material.

“Argo” isn’t really about its leading

man, it’s about the operation as a whole, and while Affleck allows us enough intimacy into his character’s life for us to care about him, it’s far from a detailed character study, something that would have detracted from the immediacy and scope of the material. Meanwhile, Bryan Cranston continues to prove his worth on the big screen as “Breaking Bad” supposedly nears a close, playing Mendez’s boss with the right amount of hard-edged honesty. And I’d like to see more films with the pairing of Alan Arkin and John Goodman, who make a convincing case that they could be a successful comedy duo.

They click instantly and provide the film with some much-appreciated and surprisingly effective humor. Although I felt that toward the beginning there were one too many scenes in a row emphasizing the comedy of setting up a fake film (complete with bad costumes straight out of a low rent “Star Trek” rip-off), the film soon achieves a much more nuanced balance between humor and tension.

“Argo” doesn’t ponder the ethical quandaries or feature as conflicted characters as Affleck’s previous directorial works “Gone Baby Gone” or “The Town,” but it makes up for it in its breadth. I’m usually the type to eschew this sort of approach for a more quiet, character-based examination of a complex situation, but when it’s handled with this much panache, it’s hard to resist. Above all else, “Argo” is simply a superbly crafted Hollywood movie that reminds us that intelligence and fun don’t have to be mutually exclusive. In this regard above all else, it is perhaps most reminiscent of the time period it depicts. Not simply because Affleck smartly uses a grainy grade of film to recall its aspirations, “Argo” would be right at home as a film being released in the late 70s/ early 80s, and it feels like a longlost classic of the period that’s only now getting its due. And as a lapsed Affleck-hater myself, to anyone who still partakes in cracking a joke here and there, I’ll be the first person to ask: have you been lying under a rock for the past five years? As far as I’m concerned, he’s three for three and I can’t wait to see what he brings us next.

Comic by Eirene Wang ’13

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Arts & Living 9

The World, Seen: On Beauty and Big Bird

Image courtesy of msnbcmedia.msn.com

8IFO UIJOLJOH BCPVU i4FTBNF 4USFFU w POF GFFMT B TFOTF PG SJHIUOFTT UIBU JT more due to a moral pleasure akin to casual philanthropy than its beauty.

Zach Bleemer ’13 Staff Writer Like Mitt Romney, I like Big Bird.

That’s not to say that I like watching “Sesame Street.� Actually, I find watching “Sesame Street� to be an infernal activity; time is a scarce resource, and time spent in my adult life without investment or pleasure is time poorly spent.

Nevertheless, “Sesame Street� educates, engrosses and pacifies young children, as it once did for me, and if I could choose between a world with and a world without “Sesame Street,�

I’d choose “with.�

To me, everything about “Sesame Street� is great unless I happen to be watching it. Thinking about Big Bird and Elmo, Oscar the Grouch and the Cookie Monster makes me happy because “Sesame Street� is just as children’s television programs ought to be. I could list the qualities of good children’s television (Educational. Inspiring. Funny. Directed towards an introduction to the real world.), and then list the qualities of “Sesame Street� in particular, and I would probably end up with two copies of the same list.

The feeling that thinking about “Sesame

Street� invokes, at least in me, is a combination of warm-fuzziness and rightness. As a feeling, it relates very closely to the feeling of moral worth; I feel that “Sesame Street� is good for the world just as I feel that a person’s giving money to the homeless is good for the world, even if I rarely choose to experience either. Both are self-justifying, internally consistent, right. Considering them somehow necessarily results in a certain kind of pleasure, a pleasure that feels the same in both cases. Immanuel Kant calls it “the feeling of the good.�

Now, compare that pleasurable feeling, the feeling that you get on experiencing something that is good or right or perfect, with the feeling of experiencing something beautiful. The feelings are qualitatively very similar. After all, “a combination of warm-fuzziness and rightness� describes the feeling of the beautiful almost as well as it does for the feeling of the good.

In fact, centuries of European thinkers believed that the two feelings not only felt similarly, but felt exactly the same. The Middle Ages, as Italian scholar Umberto Eco states in his book on the subject, conceived of aesthetic beauty as “the beauty of moral harmony and of metaphys-

This Week in Amherst History: Oct. 26, 1979

Image courtesy of Office of Public Affairs

The Amherst Student published an article concerning an oncoming rally aimed at protesting the arrests of three black women at Russells 1BDLBHF 4UPSF XIFSF UIFZ BMMFHFE UIF "NIFSTU UPXO QPMJDF NJTUSFBUFE and abused them, as well as protesting racism and police brutality on B MBSHFS TDBMF 5IF UISFF XPNFO BO "NIFSTU TUVEFOU B MJCSBSJBO BU the College and a Hampshire student, were charged with disorderly DPOEVDU CVU NBJOUBJOFE UIFJS JOOPDFODF XIJMF BXBJUJOH USJBM 5IF SBMly was aimed at detailing how human rights abuses occur within the greater Valley area and should be taken seriously, arguing that the public must take a stand against this abuse for fear that the court system would not.

Jake Walters ’14 Staff Writer

ical splendor,� taking beauty to be a physical manifestation of the divine moral system. Medieval Neo-Platonist philosophy claimed that God placed beauty into the world merely to remind those who experience it of the greatness of the divine truth; by experiencing beauty it was believed that people could transcend their corporeal states and approach the world of forms that underlay the experienced world.

Feelings are difficult to talk about, almost by their very definition. Nevertheless, one discussable characteristic of most feelings, and certainly of the feelings that this article discusses, is that feelings are about something. Anger is a good example. Imagine that someone grabs your favorite pen from your hand and runs away with it. The pen is your property, and you want the pen because it is your favorite pen; at the time of the theft, then, and when you think back on the theft, you would probably experience anger.

But suppose that the person returns the pen to you an hour later, and tells you that they stole your pen only in order to fill out a voter registration form, which they would never have been able to fill out otherwise. If you believe that voting is a good thing for people to do, then suddenly your anger seems baseless, or even wrongheaded. As soon as the belief that grounds anger dissipate, the anger dissipates as well.

The feeling of goodness invoked by “Sesame Street� is structurally very similar to anger.

Neither feeling is grounded on a physical object so much as on a particular property or properties of that object. The anger described above is grounded not on the action of the theft itself but on the perceived injustice of that theft; as soon as we are convinced that the theft was not in fact unjust, the anger dissipates. Similarly, “Sesame Street’s� goodness is grounded on the belief that there are certain things about that program that

make it a good program for children, as evidenced by its longevity on television and its 143 Emmy Awards, indicating broad public admiration.

The feeling of beauty, on the other hand, is not grounded on any particular properties of the beautiful object. As I discussed in my last column, one remarkable, distinctive feature of beauty is that it cannot be broken down into components; the sum of all of an object’s properties contribute to beauty in their unity. As the American philosopher George Santayana stated in his turn-of-the-century monograph on “The Sense of Beauty,� “beauty is pleasure regarded as the quality of a thing.�

Our feelings of beauty and goodness correspond directly to our finding value in beautiful and good objects. When someone says that they value “Sesame Street,� after all, they are not really talking about the specific television show with Muppets, the spelling and the ridiculous restaurant scenes; what they value is the show’s educational value, popularity, sweetness, cuteness and all-around goodness. But when someone values something beautiful, it is actually that particular thing that they value; no replica or closely-related object or imagined likeness would suffice.

Ultimately, we find the manifestation of this distinction in feeling-type in our ability, or inability, to communicate why we find an object to be beautiful. In the case of “Sesame Street,� we can list off exactly what it is about “Sesame Street� that we appreciate or value. For beautiful objects, on the other hand, the thing that we value is so unified, so tied up in the complete object, that we often find nothing to talk about.

The value of beauty is somehow its own ground; its pleasure validates itself. In this way, beauty maintains a purity of pleasure that cannot be attained by goodness, forcing its own place in the range of available experience.

10 Sports

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Schedule

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WEDNESDAY Men’s Soccer @ Conn. College, 3 p.m.

Women’s Soccer @ Conn. College, 3:30 p.m.

Field Hockey @ Conn. College, 3:30 p.m.

Volleyball @ Smith, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY Volleyball @ Colby, 8 p.m.

SATURDAY Men’s Cross Country @ Bowdoin (NESCAC Championships), 12 p.m.

Game of the Week

Women’s Cross Country @ Bowdoin (NESCAC Championships), 12 p.m.

Football vs. Tufts, 1 p.m.

Volleyball @ Bates, 2 p.m.

Field Hockey NESCAC Quarterfinals, TBD Men’s and Women’s Soccer NESCAC Quarterfinals, TBD

MEN’S SOCCER vs. CONN. COLLEGE When and Where: Wednesday, Oct. 24 Conn. College

The Jeffs face off against Conn. College today in their regular-season finale with serious playoff implications at stake.

Currently, the no. 3-ranked men’s soccer team is 7-0-2 in conference play, as is Williams, who plays Middlebury today at 2 p.m. Because the Jeffs and Ephs tied 0-0 earlier in the season, if Amherst and Williams earn the same result (win, tie or loss), a coin flip will determine home-field advantage for the conference tournament, starting this weekend.

Senior defensive back Mike Aldo earned NESCAC Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors after recording eight tackles (three solo) in a crucial 17-9 victory against Wesleyan Univ. Among Aldo’s team-leading eight tackles was a forced-fumble that would result in the Jeffs first touchdown of the afternoon. Late in the fouth quarter, with the Jeffs leading 17-9, Aldo produced perhaps the biggest play of the Lord Jeffs’ season, intercepting a deflected pass in the Cardinal’s red zone. The pick — Aldo’s first as a Jeff — helped the Jeffs kill 3:39 off the clock en route to a victory.

— Emmett Knowlton ’15

Late Goal Gives Field Hockey 1-0 Win

Kevin Hoogstraten ’15 Staff Writer

Field hockey bounced back from a rocky stretch of conference play to record two wins last week in their push to the postseason. The 15th-ranked Lord Jeffs used a big second-half run to pull away en route to a 5-1 victory over Smith on Thursday before traveling to Wesleyan on Saturday. In a nail-biter, the team withstood intense offensive pressure before scoring with six minutes left and holding on for a win that left them in sole possession of fifth place in the NESCAC. The Lord Jeffs took it to Smith from the outset in a game controlled throughout by Amherst. The team ended up with an 50-2 advantage in shots and a 29-0 edge in penalty corners, and 16 minutes in Annika Nygren ’16 pounced on a rebound to open the scoring.

Smith equalized less than a minute later on their first shot of the evening, as Smith’s Allie Stein tied Smith’s singleseason assist record by carrying the ball upfield and slotting the ball across to Jenny Estes, who beat Rachel Tannenbaum ’15. The Smith defense held firm after equalizing, and the teams remarkably headed into halftime tied 1-1.

The second half was once again dominated by Amherst, as Smith failed to record a shot for the last 44 minutes of the game.

The Lord Jeffs went ahead for good thanks to a slice of luck seven minutes into the half, as a blast from Alex Philie ’14 ricocheted off a defender past Nora Demick in goal. Amherst regained possession off of the restart, and a mere 22 seconds later Madeline Tank ’15 won a loose ball in front of the cage and fired home.

The Pioneers would have no respite from the Lord Jeffs’ pressure, as two minutes later Kerry Fusco ’15 onetimed the ball into the net on the right post from a Philie pass. Philie ended the scoring much the way she began it, as another powerful long shot found its way into the net in the 50th minute.

With the game’s outcome beyond

doubt, co-captain Sarah Wise ’13 replaced Tannenbaum in net and did not have to make a save over the last twenty minutes. Nomi Conway ’13 and Camille Youngblood ’15 also came off the bench for the Lord Jeffs.

The team entered Saturday’s matchup tied with Wesleyan in the conference standings, and the game was a tense affair throughout.

Wesleyan had the run of play in both halves, racking up a total of 22 shots to the Lord Jeffs’ six. Tannenbaum was called on to make four first-half saves, and the game headed into halftime scoreless.

Wesleyan ramped up their play in the second half, generating 13 shots while allowing just two. Tank, however, made the most of her second-half opportunity, demonstrating her nose for goal by winning the ball in a frantic scrum in front of goal and slapping it in.

Tank now sits tied with co-captain Katie McMahon ’13 for the team lead in goals with ten.

The Cardinals pushed forward for the equalizer, but Tannenbaum stood firm in goal, twice denying Wesleyan cocaptain Ashley McLaren with pad saves on successive penalty corners. Amherst regained possession and ran out the clock in Wesleyan’s defensive half.

The team’s intensity and scrappy nature wasn’t lost on head coach Carol Knerr. “The team really battled and found a way to put the ball in the goal,” Knerr said. “We faced a lot of pressure defensively, but were able to stay strong and earn a shutout...it was the effort of the entire team working together that got us the win.”

Amherst now sits in fifth place in the competitive NESCAC, with just one regular-season game left against Conn.

College.

A win over the Camels would ensure that the Lord Jeffs avoid Middlebury and Bowdoin, ranked first and third nationally, in the first round of tournament play.

“The team is hungry to play Conn and to play a strong game in our first round NESCAC game,” Knerr said.

Although the Camels enter their last game of the season at a lowly 1-2-6, the Jeffs know all too well that in NESCAC play anything can happen. Last year, a week after tying Wesleyan to remain undefeated, the Jeffs fell at home 3-2 against the then sixth-placed Camels.

As usual, Amherst will look toward veteran forwards Spencer Noon ’13 and Jae Heo ’14 for offense, while hoping firstyear netminder Thomas Bull will continue his NESCAC Rookie of the Year-worthy effort between the pipes (.913 save pct.)

The Jeffs are well aware of what’s at stake (their undefeated season included).

More than hope for a Middlebury upset, all they can do is deliver a win when it matters most. — Emmett Knowlton ’15

Madeline Tank ’15 netted field hockey’s gamewinning goal with just 6:39 left against Wesleyan Univ. on Saturday, securing the win and, for the third time in four years, the Little III Championship. Receiving a pass from fellow sophomore Kerry Fusco, Tank found her way out of a mass of Wesleyan defenders just in front of goal and didn’t waste the best opportunity of the day, burying the winner. The Winnetka, Ill. native currently sits tied for fourth place in the NESCAC with 10 goals. She also has 20 points in 13 games for the 5-4 Lady Jeffs.

— Emmett Knowlton ’15

Men’s Soccer Can’t Close Out Cardinals after 2 OT

#SFOUPO "SOBCPMEJ Staff Writer

Hounded by a raucous, hostile Wesleyan homecoming crowd, the men’s soccer team battled to a 1-1 draw against the Cardinals last weekend.

Spencer Noon ’13 staked the Jeffs (11-0-2, 7-0-2 NESCAC) to a 1-0 lead by scoring just 22 seconds before halftime, but Wesleyan (7-3-3, 5-2-2 NESCAC) leveled the match in the 66th minute to steal a share of the points.

With Saturday’s result in the books, all three Little Ivy teams (Amherst, Williams, Wesleyan) have tied each other this season, marking the first time since 1932 that all three Little Ivy matchups have ended in draws.

The 1-1 draw against Wesleyan dropped the Jeffs into a first-place tie with Williams (7-0-2 NESCAC) in the conference standings. With the NESCAC’s No. 1 seed (and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs) on the line, Amherst concludes its regular season at Connecticut College this afternoon, while Williams takes on Middlebury.

Hitting the road for the first time since September, the Jeffs knew they would encounter a dogfight at Wesleyan. The Cardinals — No. 3 in the NESCAC standings — entered the derby match on an uncharacteristic two-game losing streak, having suffered defeats to Eastern Connecticut State and Conn College.

“It is always hard to play away at a school on their homecoming,” Mooney said. “They were also coming off of two losses and were in desperate need of a result against us. All of this made for a difficult game.”

The Jeffs created the first quality scoring chance in the 15th minute, but first-year Greg Singer’s effort rattled off the post to keep the game scoreless.

Just before halftime, Amherst stunned the homecoming crowd with a goal in the 45th minute — only 22 seconds before the half-ending whistle.

Ben Norton ’14 delivered a pinpoint cross from the right flank, allowing Noon to strike a header from close range for his NESCAC-leading ninth goal of the season.

Amherst dominated the early stages of the second half, accumulating a 9-1 shots advantage in the first 17 minutes of the period. The feisty Cardinals, however, shocked the Jeffs with a brilliant goal in the 66th minute, as Wesleyan’s Rory O’Neill unleashed a 20-yard laser into the right corner of the net. O’Neill’s tally was just the second goal conceded by Amherst’s stingy defense all season, breaking a scoreless streak of 857:29 — the equivalent of

about 9.5 matches.

Backed by an energized crowd, Wesleyan began to reverse Amherst’s earlier domination, controlling possession for longer stretches as the match progressed.

With the game deadlocked at 1-1 after regulation, the arch-rivals battled through an actionpacked, nail-biting overtime session. The Jeffs had their best scoring chance just two minutes into extra time, as the ever-dangerous Noon sprung loose from the Wesleyan backline — surging into the box from the left side — but his point-blank shot was stopped by Cardinals’ goalkeeper Adam Purdy.

Just one minute later, the Cardinals came inches from winning when Wesleyan’s Brandon Sousa nailed a shot off the crossbar; the ball bounced back to O’Neill, but Amherst goalkeeper Thomas Bull ’16 smothered the low header attempt.

“They had solid players at every position and were a good team at keeping the ball. That said, I thought we played well for stretches and worked pretty hard defensively,” James Mooney ’13E said.

“We had our share of chances and I still feel that we can do a better job capitalizing on these to really put a team away.”

“There is definitely a lot for us to improve upon,” Mooney said. “We need to be able to put in a full 90-minute effort without any momentary lapses that can change a game.”

The Jeffs will look to stay in contention for the NESCAC’s No. 1 seed with a victory at Conn. College this afternoon. The Camels (5-2-6, 1-2-6 NESCAC) have inexplicably dominated Amherst in recent years, winning three of the past four meetings.

In last year’s matchup, the Camels ruined the Jeffs’ undefeated season with a stunning 3-2 upset in the regular season finale at Amherst. In that agonizing defeat, the Jeffs hit three posts, scored an own goal and missed a penalty shot in the 88th minute.

“The Conn. game has definitely been marked on the calendar. Conn. has always played well against us, but we will be fully prepared and focused going into the game on Wednesday,” Mooney said.

This season, Conn. College has not lost a match on home turf (2-0-4). The Camels are also unbeaten in their last eight matches (4-0-4).

“Their field is surrounded by houses and fraternities and is a tough one to play on, so we need to come out firing and ready from the start,” Mooney said. “I expect them to bring a lot of energy and confidence due to their results against us in the past. We are not treating the game lightly, however, and we will be ready to go.”

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Sports 11

Lady Jeffs Soccer Racks Up Luck of the Draw? ’Tweeners Two More Wins "OESFX ,VS[XFJM Staff Writer Simply perfect. This week, at least. In two games, the women’s soccer team did not allow a goal en route to two wins to move them to 11-1- (7-1-1 NESCAC). After thrashing Keene State 5-0 on Wednesday, Amherst earned a hardfought 1-0 overtime victory at Wesleyan.

Less than three minutes into the Keene State game, first-year sensation Megan Kim ’16 found Amanda Brisco ’14 free in front of net for a tap-in 1-0 lead. Hannah Cooper ’14 doubled the Jeff’s lead in the 11th minute, finishing Kathryn Nathan’s ’13 low cross. Nathan would later add a goal of her own, and Mel Stier ’15 would net two for the 5-0 shutout victory.

The Jeffs, the NCAA’s 10th-ranked team nationally, outshot Keene State 18-12, but were at a disadvantage in the corner count, 4-3. Coach Jen Hughes felt the game was more lopsided than it otherwise might have been as a result of her side’s quick goals. “Keene is a solid team, but we finished our early chances and put them away early,� she said.

The Jeffs were not able to get an early goal against Wesleyan, a bottom-three NESCAC team who has struggled so far this season. Instead, they were substandard in the games opening minutes. “We started off flat and they were playing high speed and physical,� Co-captain Kate Sisk ’14 said. Coach Hughes was equally unimpressed by the start. “They came to play and we didn’t,� she said.

The Jeffs came out stronger in the second half and outshot the Cardinals 17-10 in regulation. However, had it not been for some key saves by Holly Burwick ’16, the Cardinals might have emerged victorious. Once in overtime, the Jeffs finally hit their stride. “At the beginning of overtime, we had the momentum,� Sisk said. “Wesleyan tried to slow us down, but we pushed through�.

It only took them a matter of minutes to win a free kick on the edge of the 18-yeard box. Maya Jackson-Gibson ’15

took the kick and found Sarah Duffy ’14 at the back post for the golden goal that gave the Jeffs a much-needed 1-0 overtime victory.

Despite the win, the Jeffs will not be the NESCAC regular season champions and will not host the NESCAC Championship. Even if they were to defeat Conn. College in a road game on Wednesday, the winner of the MiddleburyWilliams game would earn home-field advantage. Were that match-up to result in a tie, Williams would retain the top spot.

Coach Hughes, however, would not allow her team to look ahead, however toward the post-season. “Regardless of the standings, every team in the NESCAC is solid, and we have to come to play. Saturday was instructive and hopefully we can implement what we learned in that game on Wednesday against Conn.�

Though they may not have won the regular season NESCAC tiltle, the Jeffs remain confident they can win when it matters most: in the playoffs.

Photo Courtesy of Megan Robertson ’15

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Firedogs Drop Three Straight at Tournament, Fall to 11-8

Photo Courtesy of Megan Robertson ’15

5IF 'JSFEPHT XJMM MPPL UP HFU CBDL PO USBDL BT UIFZ GBDF UXP /&4$"$ SPBE UFTUT ,BSM (SFFOCMBUU Managing Sports Editor Just when it seemed that the Firedogs were gathering some valuable momentum, the squad lost three straight contests, dropping to 11-8 on the season.

On their second-to-last weekend of regular season play, the Lady Jeffs dropped each non-conference game at the Hall of Fame Classic by a 3-1 score. The matches were held at the homes of local rivals Smith and Mount Holyoke.

The first setback came against Springfield on Friday, Oct. 19. Emily Waterhouse ’13 turned in a solid effort, adding 10 digs to her 16 kills, but her perfor-

mance proved not to be enough. The Jeffs dropped the first set of the day, 25-19, but proceeded to bounce back with a 25-12 drubbing in the second set.

Unable, however, to carry over their success in the subsequent set, the Jeffs fell by a mere 25-23 score before losing the final frame by a convincing 25-16 margin.

Hoping to respond, the Firedogs took on Wellesley College at crosstown Mount Holyoke on Saturday, Oct. 20. This time, the Jeffs jumped out to an early lead, taking the first set in easy fashion (25-14).

The Blue, however, would not be denied, mounting a furious comeback and winning each of the next three sets (25-16, 25-19, 25-23). Lauren Antion ’15 led the Jeffs with 15 kills, while Nicole Carter ’16 added 31 assists, but, once again, their efforts did not result in a victory. The win moved Wellesley to a formidable 24-4, while the Firedogs fell to 11-7 and hoped to salvage the weekend by taking the nightcap.

On Saturday night, the Jeffs faced another tough opponent in MIT, and, once again, the Amherst squad simply could not find a way to win. The Firedogs looked outmatched early, dropping the first two sets by scores of 25-20 and 25-17.

Still, the Jeffs would not go quietly; they bounced back to win the third set, 25-18. The fourth set turned out to be a thriller, but the Engineers pulled out the victory in the end, taking the match with a 29-27 triumph.

For the Firedogs, Kristin Keeno ’13 contributed 24 digs in the loss, while Carter chipped in with 28 assists.

With two NESCAC games looming on the schedule this weekend, the Firedogs, though they are undoubtedly demoralized, cannot afford to be so for long.

After a Wednesday night (Oct. 24) tune-up at Smith, the Jeffs will travel to Colby and Bates as they try to gather a head of steam for the upcoming NESCAC Championship tournament (Nov. 2). The Mules carry a record identical to that of the Jeffs (11-8), while the the Bobcats have lost four of their last five and should also be a manageable opponent for the Firedogs. Make no mistake, however, that the Firedogs must play their best.

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With the NFL awash with talk of the success of Robert Griffin III, Amro takes a closer look at the draft-day trade that landed him in Washington, and how the formula for success might change for subpar teams hoping to position themselves for a franchise-saving player.

When Andrew Luck was taken first overall in the NFL draft last year, I thought it would be tough to come up with a better name for a quarterback.

But as it stands, he’s been outdone in the nickname department, as well as nearly every statistical category, by the man known as RG3. With a quarterback rating exceeded only by Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning, opponents and teammates alike gush about the abilities of Robert Griffin III. And to think that all the Redskins had to give up for the first man in the NFL with Roman numerals on the back of his jersey (so says Wikipedia) were four draft picks.

After finishing 5-11 in 2011, Washington was slated to pick sixth in the first round of the 2012 draft. But they traded that pick and their secondround pick in 2012 to the St. Louis Rams for the second overall pick. Let’s remember that the Redskins were fortunate to even have a chance to give up the NFL’s equivalent of an arm and a leg to draft the quarterback of their dreams. The St. Louis Rams, after all, were already set at QB after drafting Sam Bradford first overall a few years ago. Once RG3 started shooting up draft boards, the Rams found themselves with a chance to draft a quarterback who had the rest of the NFL drooling and no interest in pulling the trigger. Safe to say the Rams made a killing.

But now, we might say that both the Rams and Redskins won big. The difference in value between different picks in the same round can have massive ramifications for a franchise.

As proof, one needs look no further than the draft value charts NFL general managers use to make their draftday calls. These charts assign relative values to each of the 262 picks in the draft, and help teams keep in mind how much their picks are really worth.

For instance, in the most popular iteration of this chart I found online, the first overall pick in the draft is valued at 3,000 points, the seventh overall at 1,500 points, the 23rd overall at 760 points and the 32nd overall pick at 590 points. Lest I mislead you, it’s important to keep in mind that the points in and of themselves have no meaning, only the relative difference in value between the first and last pick in the first round. Moreover, it may very well be that a second-round pick outplays a player taken in the first round. But again, the chart shows that the drafting in the second round is inherently less valuable than drafting in the first.

Using the aforementioned chart we can see that, the Redskins parted with 2,110 points in trading away their first- and second-round picks in the 2012 draft. But keep in mind that, if the Redskins finish in the middle of the pack and land the 15th pick in the draft in each of the next two years, then we can tack on another 2,100 points for the value of the two first-rounders they traded away. In total, that brings us to 4,210 points, more than what the first pick is worth in this chart. But, of course, if the Redskins outperform the average NFL team and thus end

up with a pick in the 20-32 range, the value of their first-round picks would plummet. In fact, if the Redksins manage to finish with the NFL’s best record for the next two years, the value of the picks they traded to St. Louis drops to 3,290 points — pretty close to the value of a top overall pick. So maybe it’s not so far-fetched to bet the farm on a single player.

Sometimes, that’s what it costs.

The bottom-feeders, teams that excel in the “race� to the bottom of the standings could be guaranteed excellent draft position. The key word there, of course, is excellent. The top pick is the crown jewel, but the top three picks generally are in a league of their own; the fourth overall pick is only worth 1,800 points on our chart, while the first three are worth 3,000, 2,600 and 2,200, respectively. In light of this, would “tanking� (deliberately underperforming) be all that hard?

A missed field goal, a fumble here or a missed tackle there isn’t so hard to fathom.

But I don’t know of a professional team that hasn’t summarily denied tanking. “A team built to win can’t be made to lose,� they say, “And it would be a betrayal of our fans.� I don’t have much trouble doubting that first point — just think back to the 1919 Black Sox. And when it comes to betraying the fans, I have trouble believing that it would factor in here. But the point is worth examining. Might a Redskins season ticket-holder, for example, have been willing to sit through a litany of stinkers last year in exchange for the team’s thrills this year? In other words, is it any more unfair to force fans to pay to watch a losing team try to lose rather than win?

If it does, there’s little evidence of such a trend in ticket receipts. Last year, the Redskins averaged just under 77,000 fans per home game. Definitely a decent-sized crowd, but in terms of filling up the seats, those fans occupied just about 84 percent of the capacity of cavernous FedEx Field — good only for 30th in NFL attendance, by proportion of capacity filled. This year’s high-flying Redskins? They pull in just under 78,000 fans per home game, leaving FedEx Field at 85 percent capacity, and leaving the team once again mired in 30th in terms of the capacitive attendance metric.

Reputation, however, is necessarily more than the sum of ticket stubs. I suspect it’s tough to recruit employees for any organization that actively encourages underperformance, let alone trying to recruit athletes for a professional sports team. Even if it seems sensible, properly tanking requires a perfect storm of unmotivated players, cooperative competition and the timing to pull it all off in the right year.

That sounds just about as daunting as winning; teams that consistently contend for championships are probably far more familiar with that sort of formula. A team that aims to win but comes up empty can be forgiven. A team that aims to lose, even if they’re better losers than they are winners, isn’t worth watching in the first place.

Sports

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Megan Robertson ’15 Public Affairs Office

Defense Powers Jeffs Past Wesleyan In Tight Game Two Fourth Quarter Picks Help Secure 17-9 Win Varun Iyengar ’14 Sports Section Editor Needing a victory to stay in the hunt for the NESCAC Championship, the Lord Jeffs faced a tough challenge at Wesleyan on Saturday, Oct. 20. Two weeks ago, the Amherst team suffered its first loss of the season, a demoralizing 24-3 setback at the hands of Middlebury.

Now, the squad knew it would have to win out to catch Williams and Trinity atop the conference standings, and the tough road ahead was to begin in Middletown, Conn.

Unlike in past years, this year’s matchup with the Cardinals would certainly not be an easy victory. Wesleyan came into the game undefeated on the season and looking to move to 5-0 for the first time since 1993.

On this day, though, the Jeffs were just good enough to keep their championship hopes alive. With a lock-down defensive effort down the stretch, Amherst escaped with a 17-9 victory.

The win moved the Jeffs to 4-1 on the season and extended their winning streak against the Cardinals to 10 straight games. Impressively, the Jeffs managed to pull out the victory despite being out-gained in total yardage, 356303, relying instead on timely defensive stops to earn the win.

For the second straight game, the team was also without starting running back Ryan Silva ’14. The Jeffs made up for the loss by taking to the air, gaining more yards via the pass than on the ground for the first time this season.

It was this aerial attack that got Amherst on the board first. After a forced fumble by defensive back Robbie Heflin ’13 (fresh off a three-interception effort against Colby), Amherst regained possession at the Cardinals’ 40yard line.

Working with a short field, rookie quarterback Jonathan Pieterse, in his first action

this season, orchestrated the Amherst attack.

Needing a third-down conversion early in the drive, Pieterse found James Durham ’13 for a 10-yard completion that kept the chains moving.

Two plays later, Pieterse looked to the air again, firing a screen pass to Jake O’Malley ’14, who took advantage of solid blocking to get into the end zone. The touchdown, coming with 12 minutes left in the second quarter, broke the scoreless tie and gave the Jeffs some early momentum.

Wesleyan, though, fought back. Unable to put a solid drive together until the end of the

Megan Robertson ’15 Public Affairs Office

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half, the Cardinals squeezed in a field goal as time expired to cut into the Amherst deficit heading into halftime. Building on that momentum, the Wesleyan offense started to find its rhythm early in the third quarter.

The Cardinals had a chance to take the lead, but an inopportune flag cost them dearly, as an illegal contact penalty negated what would have been a touchdown pass. Instead of jumping in front of the Jeffs, Wesleyan faced a fourth down and was forced to line up for a field goal. Still reeling from the missed opportunity, the Cardinals let those three points slip away, too, as kicker Sebastian Aguirre left the 40-yarder short to leave the score at 7-3.

When the Jeffs took over, they looked to capitalize on the mistakes of their opponents.

The offense marched to the Wesleyan 20-yard line, where it stalled and forced the Jeffs to settle for a field goal. Jake Schimdt ’14 came on for the kick, and his 33-yarder just had enough distance to extend Amherst’s lead to 10-3. The one touchdown lead, though, was certainly not safe, as Amherst would soon learn.

Looking to close the deficit, Wesleyan came up with a string of big plays that would lead to their only touchdown of the game. Receiving the ball at their own 14-yard line, the Cardinals needed only three plays to cover the length of the field. Quarterback Jesse Warren first looked to the air for a nine-yard gain, before a 15-yard run put the Jeffs’ defense on its heels. Taking a chance, Warren then looked downfield, firing a strike to Josh Hurwitz for a 62-yard touchdown.

With the game all but tied up, however, Wesleyan again committed a glaring error, as Aguirre’s extra-point attempt glanced off the right post, allowing Amherst to retain the lead, 10-9.

Barely daring to breathe a sigh of relief, the Jeffs could not allow themselves to be vanquished by Wesleyan’s big drive. Clinging to

their one-point advantage, Amherst responded with a long touchdown strike of their own.

The Jeffs’ offense began the fourth quarter by sticking to the ground game, running the ball on their first seven possessions. It seemed to be a lost cause, as Amherst was handcuffed by back-to-back penalties for a total loss of 20 yards. Facing, second-and-29, though, offensive coordinator Don Faulstick finally deviated from the running plan. Pieterse found Durham with a short screen pass that looked to be good only for a gain of a few yards. Durham, however, managed to break a tackle, and, with that single maneuver, he was off to the races, beating the defense 64 yards for a touchdown.

The score finally gave Amherst a little cushion, putting the lead at 17-9.

From that point onwards, Amherst’s defense ensured that Wesleyan could not threaten again, as back-to-back interceptions closed the door on the Cardinals. Chris Tamasi ’15 picked off a Wesleyan pass on the drive following Amherst’s score, while Michael Aldo ’13 followed suit on the Cardinals’ subsequent possession, intercepting a tipped pass. A turnover on downs ended Wesleyan’s final drive of the afternoon, and, with under a minute remaining, Amherst was able to run out the clock.

Overall, despite the narrow margin of victory, the Jeffs have to be pleased with their effort in the win. On both sides of the ball, Amherst found ways to get the job done, getting stops on defensive and executing well on offense.

Needing to be near-perfect for the remainder of the season, the team will look to ride their momentum into Saturday’s Family Weekend matchup against Tufts. The Jumbos enter at 0-5, but the Amherst squad will carry the additional pressure of facing a must-win as it looks to stay in the NESCAC Championship race.