Issue 8

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF AMHERST COLLEGE SINCE 1868

THE AMHERST

STUDENT

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VOLUME CXLIX, ISSUE 8 l WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2019

AMHERSTSTUDENT.COM

Protesters Pressure Cargill CEO and College Trustee to Extend Rainforest Protections Shawna Chen ’20, Amalia Roy ’21 and Sophie Wolmer ’23 Editor-in-Chief and Staff Writers

Photo courtesy of Sarah Wishloff ‘19

Photo courtesy of Sarah Wishloff ‘19

The design planning of the new student center to replace Keefe Campus Center will be spearheaded by the Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron. The building will take the place where Merrill and McGuire stand.

College to Construct New Student Center

Shawna Chen ’20 Editor-in-Chief

A new student center will be built on the current location of Merrill Science Center and McGuire Life Sciences Building. Long suspected since Merrill and McGuire ceased operations at the end of the spring 2018 semester, the new student center will expand the limited on-campus space devoted to students and bring will together various student activities in a centralized location. The college aims to complete a conceptual design by May 2020.

The idea of building a new student center has been in the works since the opening of the Science Center, which officially launched

in the fall of 2018. With the Science Center now housing the STEM departments on campus, Merrill and McGuire have remained empty next to Charles Pratt Dormitory.

“We want a center that provides a vibrant sense of community on campus and offers students, in particular, the kinds of social spaces that are currently in short supply,” President Biddy Martin said in a statement to The Student.

The Board of Trustees approved administrators’ selection of the architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron (HdM) two weeks ago.

Architects from the firm will join members of the college administration in meeting with stakeholders to develop a vision for the design.

“There are the types of spaces on

campus that promote community building and a strong social life; it’s why we have decentralized spaces like the Powerhouse or O’Connor Common,” said Chief of Campus Operations Jim Brassord. “What we don’t have is a singular space where students can come together in community. I think that was a major factor in persuading us that a student center was our next important strategic building initiative.”

Keefe Campus Center, currently the designated student center, was built in 1986 as a response to the shift away from fraternities. “But of course, 1986 was a completely different time, and there were different expectations about how a student center or a campus center could support the community,” Brassord

said. He added that the college intends to repurpose Keefe as an academic building after the new student center is built.

Chief Student Affairs Officer Karu Kozuma said that planning for the center will entail three goals: inform people about the timeline of design and construction, compile feedback from community members on how the student center can meet student needs and engage students in conversation with each other about their shared experiences.

Architects from HdM arrive on campus this week and will begin holding meetings with students, faculty and staff next week.

Continued on page 4

Dozens of students, led by the Food Justice Alliance (FJA), gathered in front of the Mead Art Museum on the evening of Oct. 18 to protest trustee and Cargill CEO David MacLennan ’81 for his company’s record of impact on the environment. Demonstrators stood outside of the museum while the board met inside from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m.

Cargill is a company that acts as an intermediary between farmers and food-based companies, trading grain and other agricultural commodities. In 2006, after it was revealed that soy production was fueling deforestation, Cargill committed to a moratorium on buying soy from farmers who were clear-cutting in the Brazilian Amazon. MacLennan has recently faced criticism, however, for not expanding that moratorium to other geographical areas, such as the Brazilian Cerrado.

According to Reuters, Cargill announced in June that it would not meet its pledged goal of eliminating deforestation by 2020. Cargill instead committed $30 million to find solutions to protect the Cerrado and native Brazilian vegetation.

Organizations focused on protecting the environment, most prominently Mighty Earth, have criticized this plan for committing less money to protecting Brazilian forests than the amount Cargill spends on activities

Continued on page 4

News Oct. 21, 2019 – Oct. 27, 2019

>>Oct. 21, 2019 10:47 a.m., Frost Library An officer responded to a report of a clock stolen from a classroom.

door handle.

>>Oct. 22, 2019 2:50 a.m., Webster Hall Officers assisted an individual that lost their car.

>>Oct. 26, 2019 12:10 a.m., College Street An officer stopped a vehicle after it nearly hit people at a crosswalk.

3:44 a.m., Keefe Health Center An officer observed an individual in possession of marijuana under one ounce.

9:06 a.m., Webster Hall An officer responded to damage in multiple rooms. >>Oct. 23, 2019 6:51 a.m., Valentine Dining Hall Officers responded to a report of an individual trespassing in a building. >>Oct. 24, 2019 4:38 p.m., Valentine Dining Hall A camera was stolen from the coatroom in Valentine Dining Hall.

Anna Abramson

4:50 p.m., Campus Center Loading Docks An employee parked in a manner that blocked another employee in.

12:51 a.m., Hitchcock Dormitory An officer observed a speaker hanging from a smoke detector along with a burning candle.

12:24 p.m., Moore Dormitory An officer responded to a report of intentional destruction of a bathroom.

7:57 p.m., Jenkins Dormitory An individual accidentally broke a window.

8:11 p.m., Residence Hall A An officer confiscated a keg that was not properly registered.

10:58 p.m., Mayo Smith House Officers responded to a noise complaint at an unregistered party. The group cleared without incident.

8:12 p.m., Chapman Dormitory A student reported a group of alumni yelling outside of a residence hall and trying to enter.

Another individual let them in.

>>Oct. 25, 2019 2:22 a.m., Chapman Dormitory Officers assisted an individual stuck in a room with a broken

>>Oct. 27, 2019 1:25 a.m., Alumni Lot An individual was found sleeping outside and was reunited with their friends.

Fresh Faculty Department of English

Anna Abramson is an assistant professor of English. She was a postdoctoral fellow at both MIT and Harvard. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and English from Brown University and her Ph.D. in English from the University of California, Berkeley.

Q: What led you to want to pursue a Ph.D. in English, and what led you to want to become a professor?

A: When I was in college, I double majored in English and psychology because I couldn’t pick between two things that I was really interested in. There was probably a little time toward the beginning where I maybe was leaning to be more interested in psychology, but as I took more English classes, I just loved digging into texts; I loved that they frustrated me but that I would often write a paper and feel like I understood the texts in a way that I hadn’t before ...

Then I took two years off after college and I worked in New York for a foundation [as a] staff writer. Basically, it was a writing job where I got to use my English background. A big thing that I did was write book jacket copy. I think one of the major reasons I went back to grad school was I always felt like I wanted to be the one writing the book instead of just writing the back jacket of the book ... That’s when I thought about going back to grad school, and I ended up going to Berkeley to get my Ph.D. in English, and once I was there I also discovered how much I really like teaching. I felt really energized and excited being in the classroom with students.

Q: Could you describe the classes that you’re teaching this semester and what you’re hoping to accomplish with them?

A: For the 100-level class, Literary Storms, the idea came from a lot of things I had noticed that, for lack of a better way of putting it, leaked around the edges of the

book project that I am working on. Atmosphere is a lot of slow drifting subtle weather, but also in doing this research, I had come across so many amazingly varied instances of storms, whether it’s hurricanes, tornadoes, cyclones or rain storms and literature from the late 19 century to the present day. I really thought this was a fascinating kind of thematic thread to put together so that’s kind of what we’re looking at. In this class, [there] are all different authors with different historical context, different styles, some are writing about cities, some are writing about nature, but there’s this one thing that they all have in common, which is a storm. It has different effects and serves different literary purposes in each text, so that it also becomes a class about the fundamentals of close reading and writing. It’s a really helpful unifying thread to think about.

In the Modernist class, really what I want to do is introduce students to modernisms, not just to give a definition or to say, ‘This is what modernism was,’ but to show that ‘modernisms ’ is something that we can try to define for ourselves by looking at a range of texts written in the early 20 century. What I wanted to do for that was to give a lot of these authors the chance to explain themselves in their own words Q: What has it been like teaching at Amherst for the first time?

A: It’s been great. It’s been everything that everyone told me and more, in terms of the kind of community feel and the sense of students being motivated and excited. It’s really resonated with me

in terms of all of the different interdisciplinary interests that a lot of students have. I think that you get this sense of the small liberal arts college that is palpable compared to MIT, or Berkeley, which are amazing places, but they’re different.

They’re large. There seems to be a much more closely knit community or sense that the faculty and the students are sharing a community I think there’s closer contact between professors and their students.

Things like that are quite different, but then there’s also a lot that’s similar. I think they are three great schools with motivated students, so I do see a lot of similarities between a lot of my MIT students who might never plan to go on to do anything with English, but did have a great appreciation for literature and a great interest in connecting it to their own field.

Q: Outside of your academic work, what do you hope to get involved with around campus?

A: At some point down the road, I would like to look into forging connections between English and environmental studies for thinking about ways that we can foster conversations, whether it’s lecture series or classes. I’d like to be asking the questions of what kind of conversations can be going on between English and the environment. I’d like to get involved with the the queer/LGBT community, in terms of what support and home away from home access for students.

That’s something I would be really interested in and passionate about.

— Olivia Gieger ’21

News 3

The Amherst Student • October 30, 2019

Honoring Stonewall, College Launches LGBTQ+ Event Series Sophie Caldwell ’23 Staff Writer President Biddy Martin’s house was decked with pride flags for the Stonewall Committee’s inaugural event, the Stonewall at 50 Soirée on Oct. 16. The Stonewall Committee invited members of the college community to the soirée to launch a year of programming by the committee.

The Stonewall uprising was a clash between police and patrons of the Stonewall Inn, a New York gay bar. Engaging in homosexual behavior was illegal at the time, so police raided the bar and roughly arrested patrons and employees. The event sparked six days of protests and riots, and ultimately served as a catalyst for the LGBTQIA+ rights movement. To engage with the legacy of Stonewall, the Stonewall Committee will host events focused on the LGBTQIA+ community throughout the rest of the semester.

The Stonewall Committee is comprised of students, faculty and staff dedicated to “celebrating and recognizing the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall rebellion,” according to co-chair Jxhn Martin, director of the Queer Resource Center. Gabe Hall, assistant director of international student engagement, co-chairs the committee with Jxhn

Martin. The Stonewall Committee aims to center marginalized voices, especially queer and trans people of color, through its programming in order to “showcase the richness and complexity of the Stonewall rebellion,” Hall said. As part of that mission, the co-chairs began the Stonewall soirée with a land acknowledgement before discussing the events of Stonewall.

The first meeting of the Stonewall Committee took place last semester in early April. The committee sought to bring in voices from multiple different groups on campus, as well as from people with diverse backgrounds of academic knowledge. The goal is to build community across the entire Amherst community.

The Stonewall at 50 Soirée was open to all members of the Amherst College community, and numerous faculty, students and staff attended.

President Biddy Martin, who was the main speaker of the night, said that she had rarely been as excited as she was that day to host a “gay soirée.” She praised the work of the Stonewall Committee and the many LGBTQIA+ scholars in the room.

“There is so much variation in the embodiment of gender and sexuality,” Biddy Martin said, who is not related to Jxhn Martin. “Why

anyone still feels that they should contest that is beyond me.”

Biddy Martin joked that when Stonewall occurred in 1969, she was “not in a gay bar in Greenwich village — but unlike most of you I was alive.”

Growing up in the 60s in a “very bigoted household,” she said any hint of queerness was cause for “murderous rage.” Her family knew she was queer, and they saw it as a problem. Now, she said, there has been so much change and progress, though it may not be even or linear.

Biddy Martin noted, however, that the LGBTQIA+ rights movement still has a long way to go, referencing the employment discrimination case currently under Supreme Court review. The Supreme Court heard three court cases on Oct. 8 on the topic of whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects gay and trans people from employment discrimination. A decision is expected by June 2020, when the current Supreme Court term ends. “We are going to have to fight on to get back what is being eroded,” Biddy Martin said.

But she doesn’t want students “to have to fight at Amherst College.”

Biddy Martin said she recognizes that there are phobias and forms of discrimination present in the Amherst community. “We will fight

back together,” she said. “Be proud of who you are.”

“It takes a huge amount of support to get through,” she added about the traumas of enduring homophobia from her own family. She encouraged everyone to uplift each other and not allow themselves to become divided. In keeping with the mission of the Stonewall Committee, Biddy Martin emphasized that many groups were at the forefront of the movement, including trans women, gay men, lesbians and people of all races. She warned against highlighting one group in order to suppress another but urged people to “insist on their rights” if they were part of a group that gets the least support or recognition.

She then encouraged people to come forward if they experience discrimination so that she and the administration can rectify it. “Don’t assume that the administration doesn’t care. I care. And so does everybody else I know,” she said.

With a “eat, drink and be gay,” she closed her speech to a rousing applause and laughter.

At one point, Biddy Martin asked the crowd, “Would you have thought an out lesbian would have been hired as the president of this college?” For much of Amherst’s history, the answer would have been no.

A thesis project by Eric Thalasinos ’02 details the history of gay rights at Amherst from the 1950s to 2001. In the 1950s when Amherst College was all-male, several gay faculty members were harassed or fired for suspected homosexual behavior. Decades passed before the first support group for gay and bisexual male students was formed in 1977, although no women’s group existed at the time. When women began attending Gay Alliance meetings in 1980 after the college became co-ed in 1975, the group changed its name to Gay and Lesbian Alliance.

Another significant milestone was the establishment of the women’s and gender studies department at Amherst. Eve Sedgwick, who was a notable scholar in gender studies and queer theory, helped create the department during her time teaching at Amherst from 1984 to 1989.

Upcoming events hosted by the Stonewall Committee include a “Sounds of Stonewall Concert” at the Mead Art Museum on Nov. 13 and a residency with artist Tourmaline on Nov. 14-15. In December, the committee will host a “Day With(out) Art” showcase from Dec. 1-7, a panel on Dec. 3 titled “Cultural and Political Impact of HIV/AIDS through Art” and programming for “Beyond the Names: Commemorating World AIDS Day” on Dec. 5.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day Formally Recognized by College Tavus Atajanova ’23 Staff Writer The college officially recognized the second Monday of October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day for the first time in its history on Oct. 14. The move was made to “honor the histories, cultures and contributions of Native peoples,” according to a statement from President Biddy Martin.

Columbus Day, a holiday denoting the anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ landing in the Americas in 1492, has been variably celebrated since the late 18th century and was standardized first as a nationally-recognized holiday in 1937 and later as a federal holiday — on which government offices close — in 1968. Critics

of the holiday — especially those of Native descent — point out that it fails to acknowledge Columbus’ role in the colonization of the Americas, which saw the exploitation, mass murder and torture of indigenous peoples.

This has prompted regions of the country, including the Town of Amherst in 2016, to adopt an alternative day of remembrance that honors the cultures and historical contributions of indigenous peoples, known as Indigenous Peoples’ Day. “Let us look historical reality in the eye and acknowledge the literal and figurative erasures of Native Americans,” Martin wrote in her statement.

The college isn’t the first to adopt the alternative day of remembrance.

Other higher education institutions around the nation — Harvard and Brown included — have officially recognized Indigenous Peoples’ Day. “When a lot of colleges think about community, they think about other higher education institutions,” Professor of American Studies Kiara Vigil said. “Amherst, like many other schools, thinks of itself as a part of a broader community of scholars, undergraduate students and etc., so they look at what’s happening out there in the community of schools when it comes to something like Indigeneous Peoples’ Day.” Student activism and conversations between administrators, faculty and students led the effort to formally recognize Indigenous Peoples’

Day. Part of the shift may also stem from the college becoming more receptive to social change, “especially after the Amherst Uprising in 2015,” said Sarah Montoya ’21, co-president of the Indigenous and Native Citizens Association (INCA).

Lisa Brooks, professor of English and American studies, highlighted the work of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in pushing for the official recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which she said is “just one small step in a larger process.”

“We didn’t have that office before,” Brooks said. “That has been a really important place where students can come … and talk to faculty like Professor Vigil and me, and they can talk to other leaders in the

administration so that they can help make that conversation happen.”

Since the hiring of Native faculty members Brooks and Vigil — the first-ever known Native American faculty members at the college — the college has responded to student efforts to establish a curriculum in Native studies.

Brooks and Vigil have also stepped outside of the classroom to extend support to Native peoples.

In 2012, Brooks and Vigil mentored and supported two Native American students at the college with the creation of INCA. The association has grown in strength and number with continued support from Brooks and

Continued on page 4

The Amherst Student • October 30, 2019

News 4

Indigenous People’s Day Celebrated for First Time Continued from page 3 Vigil.

Today, INCA is a space of gathering for indigenous students. The group often discusses issues pertaining to Native people and Native rights, participate in various events across the five colleges and help recruit indigenous students interested in coming to Amherst. “Thinking about how far it has come since I’ve started here, there were about three students involved with INCA, and maybe a couple of more outside of INCA, and now it’s really grown,”

Montoya said.

The Office of Admission has also collaborated with the two professors to better recruit Native students and support them at the college.

“There has been an incredible shift from Amherst since 2012,” Vigil said. “The admissions department began to ask, ‘How do we recruit Native students? How do we support them?’ Our advice was ‘Well, you have to consider the environment. To what degree will they feel welcome and supported?’ Especially first-gen students … One of the most important things we can do now is

support INCA.” The students themselves, who have questioned the values of the college and led movements to shift from the mascot of Lord Jeffery Amherst — infamous for supporting the use of biological warfare against indigenous peoples — to the mammoth, have also played a role in holding the administration accountable. As part of the effort to increase the enrollment of Native American students, the Office of Admission hosts an Early Overnight for Native Students (EONS) program is an extension of the Diversity Open House

to allow prospective Native American students to meet with Native community members and interact with the college’s Kim-Wait/Eisenberg Collection of Native American Literature, housed in Archives and Special Collections.

With Indigenous Peoples’ Day now recognized by the college, various members of the community are hopeful change will continue. “My ultimate hope is that being Native, and [that] indigenous issues, aren’t going to seem as sidelined … I hope that Amherst continues to be a welcoming school and not just accepting

Native American students but truly letting them flourish,” Montoya said.

The college community has come a long way “in the way that we grapple with the complexity and the contraction that is history,” Vigil added.

The work, however, does not stop here. “I feel really isolated on this campus,” INCA Vice President Alexis Scalese ’22 said. “There are a lot of assumptions on this campus that Native students do not exist or are [not] present … We deserve support in expressing ourselves and having access to the same things that other students have access to.”

New Student Center to Centralize Campus Activities Continued from page 1 Projects produced by HdM, a Swiss firm most well-known for its transformation of a London power station into the Tate Modern Art Museum, typically involve “creating nuanced environments attuned to a human experience and developing spaces that heighten, rather than mask, the specifics of a place,” according to Martin.

“Their projects feature materials and shapes in thoughtful dialogue with their surroundings and strong connections between indoor and outdoor spaces,” Martin said. The firm’s commitment to sustainability was an additional “key variable.”

The college intends to prioritize construction of spaces that can meet a wide range of student needs,

whether for meetings or public events. The biggest hope is for the design of the student center to encourage unscheduled chance encounters among students.

“What we learned from our discussions with students last spring is that we need to think about the student center over the course of a day, and that there are different needs at different times of the day,” Brassord said. “It’s a place to be able to come and to have some space between classes … to just rest as opposed to going back to your dorm, a place to be able to go and reflect and so forth. And then at night, it might become a more social space: it might be able to support parties [and] performances. So it really does have to … address a range of things, but I think that is something

that changes over the course of a day as well, too.”

The architect has proposed using the foundations of Merrill and McGuire, which will be torn down, and incorporating aspects of the buildings into the new design “as both an architectural opportunity and a sustainability measure,” Martin said. The new student center, like the Science Center, will have sustainability “embedded” in its design.

“The site for our student center as a transition from the traditional quad to a more modern part of campus with such extraordinary views and challenging topography make this an appealing project to the firm,” Martin said. “We are excited about working with them.”

The college has not yet deter-

mined the timeline for the demolition of Merrill and McGuire.

The rest of the fall semester will be devoted to meetings with students, staff and faculty to solicit feedback on the community’s vision for the student center, its uses and the values attached. The college has created a 12-student Student Center Engagement Committee to help administrators best reach students, and will invite all community members to opportunities for conversation “very soon.” The administration is also in the process of creating a webpage stakeholders can use to submit thoughts and follow updates.

Once the conceptual design is complete, the college will release a timeline for the construction phase.

“It’s a great opportunity not only

for students, recognizing they’re trying to create something that they may not experience as students, but this is an opportunity to be able to leave a legacy for the next generation of students,” Kozuma said.

“It’s also an opportunity for them to learn about each other’s experiences and how all these things get physically expressed.”

“My hope is that students that are providing input won’t necessarily reflect on what’s worked in the past, but to try to be, in a sense, futurist in understanding what the needs for future generations will be,” Brassord added. “And also be able to think about this building in a way that would incorporate flexibility and adaptability, that would allow for the building to morph and evolve over time.”

Climate Conversations Continue Amid Cargill Controversy Continued from page 1 that contribute to deforestation.

A report by Mighty Earth, which describes itself as a “global campaign organization that works to protect the environment,” reveals the extent of Cargill’s abuses around the world. An interactive timeline on the Mighty Earth website displays a Cargill-involved incident nearly every year between 2000 and the present day. Included is a lawsuit in which the court ruled that former child

slaves were justified in suing Cargill for its kidnap and abuse of children who were “forced to work on Ivory Coast cocoa plantations for up to 14 hours per day, six days per week … [and] given only scraps of food to eat and beaten and whipped with tree branches,” according to a report by Mighty Earth.

FJA aligned its protest with Mighty Earth, which has continued to criticize Cargill for its environmental and human rights abuses.

In July, Mighty Earth named Cargill

“the worst company in the world.”

Other environmental protection organizations such as Rainforest Network Action have reported on Cargill’s links to violence and home demolition in Indonesia. Corporate Research Project, a nonprofit that assists labor and environmental organizations in analyzing companies, says Cargill has a “less than exemplary history of environmental compliance.” SourceWatch, published by the Center of Media and Democracy, lists several health issues involving

Cargill. One area in which Cargill has received the most criticism is its rejection of a Cerrado soy moratorium.

Protest organizer Annabelle Gary ’21 noted that “our main demand is to stop deforestation in the Brazilian Cerrado.”

“It is wrong for Amherst to promote carbon neutrality on its campus while maintaining ties with a company that causes ecological devastation and climate change,” Gary said. “In the end, what we want the

most is for Amherst to acknowledge that MacLennan’s business practices go against the college’s stance on climate change.”

Pavan Nagaraj ’21 is not a member of the FJA, but said he joined the protest when a friend informed him of MacLennan and Cargill’s role in the Amazon. “We were so focused on propping up the posters,” Nagaraj said about the protest. “Anytime the door would open we’d scream so the

Continued on page 5

News 5

The Amherst Student • October 30, 2019

College’s “Hypocrisy” Protested by Food Justice Alliance Continued from page 4 CEO of Cargill or any other board member could hear that and maybe understand the person who they’re sitting next to is.”

Grace Davenport ’21 also attended the protest because a friend invited her. “I mostly attended the protest because I am passionate about food issues,” Davenport said. “I did not know that much about MacLennan beforehand, but I am glad that I participated in the protest. The protest brought attention to a critical issue.”

The Student first requested to speak with MacLennan through a letter left at his hotel. The Student next attempted to reach him through April Nelson, a Cargill employee on its communications team. A reporter attempted to contact him through Chief Communications Officer Sandy Genelius, who then redirected him to Nelson. Nelson initially corresponded with the reporter, but after the reporter asked to speak with MacLennan directly, she stopped responding. A follow-up email did not receive a reply. The Student also called Cargill in an attempt to reach MacLennan, but was put on hold.

MacLennan did not respond by press time, but after Genelius referred Nelson to The Student’s editor-in-chief, Nelson answered questions by email, noting that MacLennan is out of the country for “almost the entire month.”

The Mighty Earth report “deeply mischaracterize[s]” Cargill’s identity and operations, Nelson said. “Sustainability is not a ‘nice to have’ at Cargill but instead is woven into the fabric of our organization — in terms of our investment priorities, our organizational structure and resource allocation,” Nelson said. “Under Dave MacLennan’s leadership, Cargill has established a sustainability hub at the corporate level.”

She proceeded to reference Cargill’s $30 million fund and its trainings of 1.2 million farmers in sustainable agriculture practices.

MacLennan’s advocacy for carbon reduction at Amherst College is “fully consistent” with how he leads Cargill on sustainability, Nelson said.

On the point of a moratorium in the Cerrado, Nelson said the Cerrado is a “very different biome” from

the Amazon. The company as a result does not believe a moratorium would address the issues there, she said. “Instead we have joined the Cerrado Working Group to find a solution that will work in the Cerrado and have formed a forest advisory panel of leading environmental experts to help us find the way forward to continue protecting the native vegetation in the Cerrado (it is not a forest area like the Amazon) while also allowing farmers to earn a living and feed their families,” she said.

In a statement to The Student on behalf of the college, Genelius wrote that “Dave is a highly valued member of our board and has been a thoughtful and active supporter of the college’s Climate Action Plan (CAP).”

Through the CAP, the college aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 by switching to renewable energy and eliminating fossil fuel use on campus. Gary views MacLennan’s position on the board as hypocritical considering the CAP’s goals.

Professor of Environmental Studies Ashwin Ravikumar said that MacLennan’s position on the board is not surprising.

“From MacLennan’s perspective, being on the board of Amherst College is a good gesture for corporate social responsibility, supporting a higher academic institution with commitments to diversity and inclusion,” Ravikumar said. “People that are in those positions often have access to fundraising networks that the college values.”

Director of Sustainability Laura Draucker declined to comment on the Office of Environmental Sustainability’s views on Cargill’s environmental impact and MacLennan’s position as a trustee.

The FJA protest organizers did not originally plan to meet with MacLennan before the trustees’ meeting. Draucker and Director of Student Activities Paul Gallegos reached out, however, and met with Gary, Parker Richardson ’21 and Sara Kaufman ’21 to make sure the protest was compliant with the college’s protest policy. At the meeting, Drauker offered to set up a meeting with MacLennan, to which the protest organizers agreed. Later that day, MacLennan organized a meeting

through a proxy. “We had the meeting within three hours of a conversation with Laura Draucker,” Gary said.

During the meeting, which included President Biddy Martin and Board of Trustees Chair Andrew Nussbaum, MacLennan said he aimed to address student concerns.

FJA was not allowed to record or take notes during the meeting, The Student confirmed with two students who sat in on the meeting.

Martin encouraged the students in the meeting to “spread honey instead of vinegar,” according to Kaufman. Martin also pushed FJA to focus more on the implications of agribusiness industry instead of attacking Cargill and MacLennan.

Richardson said that during the conversation she told MacLennan, “We’re just trying to wrap our minds around how you graduated from Amherst and claim to represent the values of Amherst, and your company has all these human rights abuses and environmental abuses.”

MacLennan claimed to uphold Amherst values and described Cargill as a principled company with established values, Richardson said. He also seemed defensive when faced with claims about Cargill’s record in the Amazon and the Cerrado, according to Richardson. “His main point was that a lot of information we have was incorrect and really biased. Definitely, when I went in there, he made me feel that I was in the wrong,” Richardson said.

Mighty Earth and Cargill initially shared an ongoing collaboration to address gaps in efforts to curb harm. The Mighty Earth report was developed out of these discussions, but after Mighty Earth shared a draft with Cargill, Cargill asked the organization to hold its release and give the company a chance to redress its wrongs. Mighty Earth held off for five months before publishing its findings.

“Unfortunately, David MacLennan’s commitments didn’t seem to translate into meaningful action by others in the company,” former Rep. Henry A. Waxman, chairman of Mighty Earth, writes in the foreword to the report. “While Mr. MacLennan seems to want to do the right thing, he appears unable to decide between those who believe Cargill

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Activists protest agribusiness company Cargill’s environmental impacts in 2008. Cargill CEO David MacLennan is an Amherst College trustee. can do better and those who want to keep the bulldozers running.”

Though MacLennan did not acknowledge Cargill’s role in human rights and environmental abuses in the meeting, members of the FJA said that the meeting revealed the effectiveness of public pressure. MacLennan’s meeting with the FJA may have been a way to avoid embarrassment, Gary said, but she saw that embarrassment as an instrument for change.

“I think that attacking him struck a nerve, especially because we are doing it in front of his colleagues, former classmates, in front of Biddy and other donors,” Gary said. Reporters at the Mead did not identify an exit

by MacLennan through the front of the museum.

Professor of Political Science Manuela Picq, who has written on the soy industry in Latin America, said that this type of pressure is necessary to hold companies accountable. She pointed out, however, that Cargill is just one of many companies doing business in Brazil and the Cerrado.

“It’s not just an economic problem. If you focus on Cargill, Cargill is an economic actor so it would look like an economic predator,” Picq said.

“There are political predators. The problem is we have governments that are selling the land, that are selling water, that are selling nature. Can we even change the economic system of the commodification of nature if we

do not change the political system?”

Picq added, however, that she supports the students’ protest. MacLennan is an individual, but he represents an institution that makes billions, she said. “And, we are in an institution,” she said. “So, in a way, it’s almost an institutional conversation for accountability through pressure, and I think it’s necessary. It’s like ‘we’re watching you.’ That’s what the message means: we’re watching you, we know what’s happening, we’re holding you accountable. Maybe we can’t do anything else than protest, but you know that we know.”

Despite their focus on Cargill, Richardson, Gary and Kaufman all agreed that if Cargill left the industry, another agribusiness giant with worse climate policies would swoop in and take the company’s territory in Brazil. The overall record of large agribusinesses on improving the agricultural capability of small farmers in particular “has been mixed at best,” according to Ravikumar.

Though the protestors may not agree Cargill’s claims of social responsibility, they do acknowledge the far-reaching nature of Cargill’s actions. “Cargill is a massive company, so anything they do — good or bad — has massive global ramifications. If we can push them to be even a little bit better, I think that’s progress,” Gary said.

MacLennan has offered to and intends to continue conversations with FJA, according to Nelson.

Opinion

w

A Whirlwind Adventure During my first week at Amherst, I ran into two editors of The Amherst Student pinning up a poster in the foyer of Appleton Hall. I had been on my high school newspaper for the past three years and knew that I wanted to work for a publication in college, but I wasn’t exactly sure how to join. I talked with the two of them for a few minutes and they handed me a copy of the paper and told me when and where to show up for the intro meeting.

That first year at Amherst, I started writing for the news section, but I wasn’t necessarily the most dedicated writer. I didn’t contribute an article every single week or raise my hand when a news editing position opened up. I was too busy trying to figure out who my “new” college self was and, on a more fundamental level, how this school worked — all while adjusting to what it means to be away from home for the first time. And so, I was on the outskirts of the newspaper.

But the summer before my sophomore year, I decided that it was time to get serious. When a news editing position opened up, I pounced on the opportunity and began working alongside my friend and partner-in-journalism Shawna Chen ’20.

Tuesday nights quickly became both a blessing and a curse. I can’t tell you the hours I’ve spent in the basement of Morrow Dormitory, staring at a computer screen until my eyes and brain are numb, second-guessing each and every comma and semicolon. At the same time, Tuesday nights were incredibly fun. The newsroom is a place filled with stories and laughter and shared pain, all in pursuit of a final product, each and every week. Slowly but surely, I began to get to know the other editors. Soon I even began to consider many of them my friends.

In the context of Amherst, this may seem unusual.

Not to bring up the athlete/non-athlete divide, but most athletes are friends with other athletes and vice versa. Even I, a club sport gal, am mostly friends with people on my team. But in the newsroom, it doesn’t really matter. What matters is the fact that you are spending almost eight hours a week working collaboratively with this group of people, all of whom are passionate about producing this paper and about journalism as a whole This sort of community is a rare treasure at a place like Amherst.

Since becoming editor-in-chief, I have experienced times when the paper makes me want to rip my hair out. There are weeks when everything that could possibly go wrong goes wrong — those are the worst.

Still, there are other weeks when I can’t stop laughing because of another editor’s well-argued tirade that the Dixie Chicks are a tool of Communist propaganda.

(Thanks, Henry Newton ’21!)

To me, The Student is important to the college for a lot of reasons. It’s the only news source on campus, it provides students with great experience for their future careers, it’s an incredible way to become more familiar and comfortable with this college. But it’s also a community.

I’m going to miss a lot about working on the newspaper. I love the process of editing articles, seeing where they begin and where they end. I love the rush of adrenaline that comes from meeting a deadline. I love seeing the way that The Student’s work impacts campus and how it makes being a member of Amherst’s community better. Perhaps what I will miss the most, however, is the company — the people who are consistently exceptional, both in the work that they do and in their friendship.

Now, like all good farewell editorials, it’s time for some thank yous.

First, thank you to each and every one of the editors whom I’ve worked with over the past four years for being so kind, smart, supportive, funny and grounding, no matter what.

A very special thank you to my predecessors, Nate Quigley ’19 and Isabel Tessier ’19, who taught me all that I know and trusted me to carry on their wonderful legacies.

Thank you to Olivia Gieger ’21 and Natalie De Rosa ’21 for stepping into this role after me. I cannot wait to see what the two of you do in this position with all of your creativity and intelligence combined.

Thank you to my friends and family (Hi Mom! Hi Dad!) for putting up with me over the past year. I know how many times I’ve made excuses or explained my stress away with just the single word “newspaper,” and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your advice and support along the way.

Now, comes the most important thank you of all.

Thank you to Shawna for working so closely with me over the past year. So much has happened during our time at the helm and it has been incredibly exciting and rewarding to share this experience with someone else. This past year would have been a lot different without you by my side.

Lastly, thank you to the Amherst community for reading The Student. I know that college is a busy time, but I can’t tell you how exciting it is to see someone sitting at a table for breakfast in Valentine Dining Hall and taking a few minutes to read the articles that our reporters and editors work so hard on every week.

Keep reading. I promise that it’s worth it.

Emma Swislow ’20 Editor-in-Chief, The Amherst Student

THE AMHERST

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

Letters Policy 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 email account (astudent@amherst.edu) by noon 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 or email address where the author or authors may be reached. Letters and columns may be edited for clarity and Student style.

Publication Standards The Amherst Student is published weekly except during college vacations. The subscription rate is $75 per year or $40 per semester.

The offices of The Amherst Student are located in the basement of Morrow Dormitory, Amherst College. All contents copyright © 2019 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. The views expressed in this publication do not reflect the views of The Amherst Student.

Connect With Us Email: astudent@amherst.edu Twitter: @amherststudent Instagram: @amherststudent Like The Amherst Student on Facebook amherststudent.com.

The Amherst Student • October 30, 2019

Opinion 7

Seeing Double: The Case for Open Borders Cole Graber-Mitchell ’22 Columnist According to Pew Research Center, 62 percent of Americans have said that immigrants strengthen our country. Yet, around 11 million undocumented immigrants face constant fear of deportation, immigration court backlogs number over one million and refugee resettlement in the United States has plummeted.

Some immigration applications have been sitting in line since 1995 and are still waiting to be processed more than 20 years later.

Our immigration system is broken beyond repair because it was never well-designed in the first place. The American immigration system is built on quotas: quotas for family reunification, quotas for employment immigration, quotas for refugee resettlement. Each year, we limit the number of people who can immigrate to the United States.

In order for anyone to enter the U.S., they need to apply for an immigrant visa, go through multiple rounds of vetting and obtain an approval from an immigration officer under the Department of Homeland Security.

Most of the limits were set in 1990, with an overall quota for non-refugee immigration set at 675,000 immigrants per year. While that quota was set by Congress, the president has the executive ability to limit refugee resettlement. In September, Trump limited refugee intake for 2020 to 18,000, the lowest level since the program was created in 1980, according to the American Immigration Council. Though we’ve long relied on limits in immigration — the modern limits replaced national origin and race-based limits intended to prevent anyone except northern Europeans from coming to the United States — these quotas don’t serve a useful purpose.

Immigrants come to the United States for a variety of important reasons. Some flee violence and oppressive regimes at home, looking for a safe place for themselves and their families. Still more escape poverty and desire access to basic amenities that are unavailable at home. Making the trip to the United States, learning English if needed, adjusting to a new

way of life and then facing prejudice, discrimination and outright violence is in no way easy. Yet, to many immigrants, it’s a better option than staying in their native countries.

We have a duty to the world to help the people we can. One of the time-honored ways of helping on an international scale is through immigration. The vast majority of Americans are immigrants or descendants of immigrants, living on stolen land.

To inherit that history and then exclude others is to turn our backs on our heritage and to reject America’s diverse, dynamic and inspiring set of overlapping cultures.

The international pressures that drive migration are in large part the result of American foreign policy — our covert operations, drone strikes and military interventions around the world have precipitated the unrest that drives migration today.

From the Syrians to whom we gave empty promises to the climate refugees fleeing natural disasters caused

by America’s astronomical per capita consumption, we owe it to the world to clean up the messes we’ve created.

While opening our doors can’t fix all the damage we’ve caused, the refugees that we’ve displaced deserve to live in the United States instead of squalid camps.

Besides the moral dimension of opening our doors and abolishing quotas, immigration has practical benefits for America. Immigrants contribute far more to public welfare than they use, according to 2013 research findings by Harvard Medical School, extending the viability of important social safety nets like Social Security. Immigrants also boost the economy, resulting in more innovation, higher productivity and bigger tax bases. Without immigrants, the population of the United States would shrink, resulting in labor shortages like those in Japan and Germany.

Hanging on a door in my high school is a sign with the words “Ningún ser humano es ilegal.” No human being is illegal. Without the quota system and extensive immigration visas, the difference between legal and illegal immigration disappears, and rightly so. People already cross the border without detection in

pursuit of a better life, settling quietly around the United States and contributing to our country. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Budget-in-Brief, the United States spends about $24 billion each year paying for immigration enforcement — in other words, paying for hard-working Americans to be ripped out of their communities and sent away.

Take Lucio Perez, an undocumented immigrant who has been living in sanctuary in Amherst’s First Congregational Church for over two years. If he leaves the church, Immigration and Customs Enforcement will arrest him and deport him to Guatemala, where he hasn’t been for 20 years. While Perez is forced to live in constant fear in a church only blocks from here, his wife and four kids in Springfield make the trip three times a week to see him. In his own words, as told to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, “to be separated from your family is the worst thing that can happen to somebody.”

Perez and the more than 11 million other undocumented immigrants in America are an integral part of this country, and they deserve a shorter path to citizenship. But that’s a stop-gap measure. The only way to truly fix the problem is to dismantle the system that selectively criminalizes immigrants.

Opponents of open border policies make three distinct arguments against immigration. First, they claim that immigrants take jobs away from native-born Americans.

Second, they argue that immigration makes America more dangerous, either by increasing crime or by allowing dangerous people into the country. And last, they argue that immigrants should wait their turn in line. However, none of these arguments stand up against the actual evidence on immigration.

To address the first point, it is true that scholarship goes back and forth on the impacts of immigration on wages. However, almost every report agrees that the magnitude of the effect is small. On the contrary, the impactful and powerful forces that depress wages in the United States aren’t imported; they’re domestic: rising wealth inequality, money in

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The U.S. immigration system must be reformed to remove quotas and other requirements, writes Graber-Mitchell. politics and regressive taxes keep the wealthy on top and oppress the middle- and working-class families who work for better lives just like immigrants.

As Howard Zinn points out in “A People’s History of the United States,” elites have used marginalized groups as scapegoats for economic anxieties throughout history. Just look at the aftermath of Bacon’s Rebellion, when in 1676 an armed, mixed-race militia rose up against the colonial governor of Virginia. In response, elites gave whites the bare minimum of rights and stepped up racist rhetoric, hardening racial lines and preventing cooperation between poor racial groups against their common oppressor. This time, immigrants have become the target.

An analysis by The Marshall Project shows that immigration decreases crime and that immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than native-born Americans. Any argument to the contrary relies on stereotypes and racism rather than facts — take President Donald Trump’s comment in his first campaign speech in 2015 that Mexicans are rapists, bad people and drug dealers.

The argument that immigration increases the risk of terrorism also doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. According to a 2016 United Nations report, terrorism is the result of its environment. Armed conflict, poor governance, human rights violations, discrimination, political exclusion and poverty all push ordinary people to turn to violent action. Often, terrorist groups become the only effective

local governments. Open borders allow people to escape those pressures, lowering the risk of terrorism while destroying the smuggling networks from which terrorists often profit, according to a study by the Center for Migration Studies.

More importantly, when we allow migration without discrimination, we can reallocate our critical funds for national security to actually identifying and apprehending terrorists instead of targeting innocent undocumented Americans around the country and ineffectively patroling the border. A risk analysis by the Cato Institute shows that from 1975 to 2017, the vast majority of foreign-born terrorists (there aren’t many in the first place) were accepted through the immigrant visa program or on tourist visas. The threat of foreign terrorism exists largely as a figment of American imagination and not in reality. Even so, an open borders policy would only serve to lower that threat.

Our long history of quotas and immigration restrictions further serve to hurt America. Contrary to our policies, immigration makes America stronger, more vibrant and more safe. In 1883, the poet Emma Lazarus wrote, “Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, / The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. / Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me.” It’s cliche to quote the poem hanging in the Statue of Liberty in an article on immigration, but it’s time that we take it to heart.

The Amherst Student • October 30, 2019

Opinion 8

Goodness versus Kindness Joseph Centeno ’22 Staff Writer We often use the words “good” and “kind” interchangeably to qualify a person based on their actions. Someone who smiles, asks us how our day was and seems genuinely interested in talking with us is deemed a “good person.” Basically, we give anyone who isn’t an asshole this mantle.

Consequently, the meaning of “goodness” has been twisted into one almost synonymous with kindness — wherein one now rarely exists without the other and their meanings have become one and the same.

Yet, it is vital that we recognize the subtle differences in the implications of each of these

words.

First of all, I need to clarify how I am defining the words “good” and “kind.” For the purposes of this piece, goodness and kindness are virtues which refer to the nature of a person’s actions. In other words, I am using them as a description of what we do, distinct from our internal selves.

Kind acts are those that make our day-to-day social interactions pleasant and genuine. Take the gym at Amherst, for example. To make this shared space a positive one, those who use it must share the equipment, respect one another’s space and be non-judgemental toward others using the space.

Meanwhile, good acts are those that exist beyond inter-

personal, face-to-face relations like those we experience in the gym. Rather, they affect people outside of our immediate social bubbles. We live and exist within social bubbles in which we see and interact with people we know. At work, at school, in our neighborhoods, we are not insulated by these social bubbles.

Kindness and goodness exist on different sides of this insulation.

Both kindness and goodness generally come from places of compassion, but the root of the act is not what concerns me.

What really distinguishes good acts from kind acts is the idea of where these acts are felt and by whom.

Kind acts, which inherently occur within our social bubbles, have a more personal nature.

We see how they are received and how they affect our relationships. They are necessary to maintaining these relations and fostering friendship, trust and community.

However, good acts take place outside of our social bubbles. This is not to say they are not social by nature, but rather that the social relations they affect are obscured, unknown to we who do the good act. They feel farther away and less important. We are far less likely to be good than kind.

While kindness is a valuable virtue, conflating it with goodness is dangerous to our self-perception. When we believe ourselves to be good because we are kind, our subsequent self-perception ignores the fact that we

The Mocha Chronicles by Laura Carty ’20

do not extend our active reach beyond what is in our immediate vicinity.

Kindness is necessary to strengthen one’s own individual community and normalizes courteous behaviour and healthy relationships.

I am not making a qualitative claim of which is better or more useful than the other. Instead, we should strive to be both good and kind, and in doing so become people who work toward the betterment of our own communities as well as those that do not appear to us daily.

The first step toward this goal is recognizing that being kind does not suffice for being good and asking ourselves how we can act beyond what is right in front of us.

Arts&Living

Student Production “Medea” Reinterprets Greek Tragedy

Photo courtesy of Amherst College Theater and Dance Department

Maki Ybarra-Young’s ’20 senior honors thesis takes form in the production of “Medea,” a modern American reintepretation of the classic Greek tragic figure.

Olivia Luntz ’21 Staff Writer As the lights illuminate the stage in Kirby Theater, they reveal an Old Hollywood dressing room with a rack of vintage dresses, a vanity and a chaise lounge that sit alongside a director’s chair. The opening lines of the play, which command the audience to “Listen. There’s a story that has to be told,” immediately send a chill over the glitzy scene. No matter how deceiving the set may be, this is a Greek tragedy, and the wheels turning toward the show’s tragic end are already in motion.

This production of “Medea” is the product of Maki Ybarra-Young’s ’20 senior honors thesis in the theater and dance department. It also marks show number 12 in her acting career at Amherst. When asked why she chose to perform in “Medea,” she confessed to a life long love of

Greek mythology, which was only solidified when she studied abroad in Athens last fall. While she was initially debating between “Medea” and “Lysistrata,” an ancient Greek comedy, she said that she decided on “Medea” because of the challenge she knew portraying the titular character would provide.

Along with the complexity of the character, Ybarra-Young discussed the pressure and expectations that come with taking on such an iconic and complex role and trying to make it her own. “I’m still learning that I need to let go of my expectations ... I came into the show thinking I knew the character, but you really have to work to tease out who they are,” she said. “It’s important to be able to tether them to aspects of myself and connect the character to things I have gone through ... It brings a more personal element to the work.”

“For example, I can relate to [the

fact] that Medea is a hot mess and so am I,” she added, laughing.

Her thesis advisor, and director of the play, Professor of Theater and Dance Ron Bashford expanded on the importance of nuance in the role, explaining over email that, “I’ve seen a number of productions of the play in which Medea is presented as more of a villain, or more neurotic, or more ‘tough,’ while Maki’s Medea is definitely a woman of glamour who presents a strong exterior, while being broken inside.”

He described her character as a modern American interpretation of the classic Greek tragic figure.

“We are concerned with public appearances, with social ‘fronting’ quite a bit these days, even when we acknowledge inner pain. It’s also American in the way Maki’s performance reflects her understanding of being an insider-outsider in several ways in a majority culture, as a wom-

an, as mixed race.”

The most unique decision Ybarra-Young made in her interpretation of the classic tragedy was to place the play within the context of an Old Hollywood movie set. “I’ve always loved Old Hollywood, ever since I was little, and I was really inspired by Sunset Boulevard and how grand everything was,” she said. As she began to do more research into how this setting could relate to Medea, she saw similarities between the treatment of the titular character and how female actors were treated in Hollywood in the 1930s, especailly in the lack of autonomy that both had.

Bashford cautioned that the set dressing and costumes are not supposed to be interpreted entirely literally. Rather than describing the play as being set in Old Hollywood, he wrote, “It’s a reference, a feeling, a way of mapping one world onto another to see what the tensions and interactions might be for an audience.” He also elaborated on the relationship he saw between Old Hollywood film stars and Medea, saying, “We talked a lot about other presentations of ‘strong women’ in movies of the time — [and] of the difference between performing power and actually having power.”

For those involved in “Medea,” performing a tragedy does not come without its own bits of melancholy.

As Lorelle Sang ’21, who portrays Medea’s nurse in the show, wrote over email, “‘Medea’ is really bittersweet for me. Maki has been a huge part of my experience doing theater at Amherst — I’ve never actually been in a show without her, and I’ve learned so much from acting alongside her. As sad as I am that this will be our last time acting together, I’m so excited for people to see how much she, and everyone in the cast for that matter, has devoted herself to this role. I think everyone involved has done an amazing job bringing this story to life,” she said.

Ybarra-Young also stressed the collaborative nature of the show, which stars an all-student cast and

also features costume, lighting and sound design by students. On opening night she’s most looking forward to hearing “how the audience will react to the cast and crew and what the genius designers have come up with.” She noted that support for the production did not only come from those working alongside her — some encouragement came from all the way across the country. “Whenever I struggled with Medea I would look back at the thank you card that Wes [Wesley Guimarães ’19] gave me for acting in ‘Faustus,’ [his senior honors thesis].” She added that he was also the one who inspired her to take on the role, telling her not to miss out on what performing in a thesis provides: “an opportunity to challenge [your]self and grow.”

At a recent rehearsal for the show, before the actors took their places on stage in a dress rehearsal last Saturday, Bashford reminded them, “You’re not doing this for the people up here,” as he pointed to the stage, “you’re doing it for everyone who will be sitting where you are now.”

Ybarra-Young agreed that although it’s easy to lose sight of the reason for all of her effort while immersing herself in the details of memorizing lines or blocking scenes, once the curtain closes and she hears that first smattering of applause, she remembers, “This is why I do this.”

Anna Plummer ’20, who serves as stage manager for the show, also enthused about her excitement for the audience to see the show. She wrote over email, “I finally got to experience the show in all its bold visual and sonic vibrancy in tech, and all I can say is ‘wow!’” Fitting with the show’s Halloween opening night, Plummer concluded that from the curtain rising to Medea’s final wail, the cast was only “growing brighter (and bloodier).”

“Medea” will be performed in Kirby Theater, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2 at 8 p.m. Tickets are free and open to the public. Reservations for tickets can be made by calling (413) 5422277.

Arts & Living 10

The Amherst Student • October 30, 2019

The Transformative Impact of Growing Streaming Services Manni Spicer Saavedra ’23 Staff Writer Over the past decade, streaming services have taken the entertainment industry by storm, edging out traditional network television channels like NBC and ABC with the more accessible, on-demand video platform.

With Netflix streaming came a revolution of how people consume media; no longer confined to a network channel’s schedule, the service provided an egalitarian mode of viewership for next to nothing when compared to the price of cable television. In turn, this democratized the media that we all consume.

It seems that everyone now has a Netflix account, allowing for a mass cultivation of taste in accordance with what’s trending on the streaming service. Think of shows like “Stranger Things” or “Orange is the New Black,” which garnered widespread support not only because of their impeccable quality, but also their easy accessibility.

However, as Netflix showed streaming services to be a massive commercial opportunity, competitors quickly rose to capitalize on this new form of viewership. Hulu and Amazon Prime Video became prominent players in the streaming world, and with Disney Plus and Apple TV Plus both coming out next month, the field will become even more crowded.

This raises the question: how will viewers respond to this plethora of content being released on these different platforms? It simply isn’t feasible for the average American to maintain five or six streaming subscriptions, which essentially forces them to pick and choose between them. Thus, the democratization of media content brought about through Netflix will decline as the platform’s dominance in the field declines along with it.

It is important to note how the media landscape has changed with the rise of these streaming services, especially in regards to relevance. Although network

shows like the “Big Bang Theory” and live sports still bring in the highest amount of viewership, critical acclaim and relevance seems to go entirely to content on streaming platforms.

Looking at the 2019 Emmy Awards, the vast majority of winners in all categories were shows produced by one of these streaming services; clearly, these platforms have upended the traditional standards and redefined the quality of television content.

This transformation could in part be due to the nature of streaming content, considering all of the money involved in this industry. Take Amazon Prime Video, for example. One of the largest companies in the world has invested resources into creating entertainment content, resulting in some of the most heavily funded (and by extension, highest quality) television shows in history.

Amazon’s upcoming project, a new “Lord of the Rings” series, is expected to cost the company at least one billion dollars — making it the most expensive television show ever made. And Amazon isn’t the only one spending big bucks on entertainment; Netflix’s “The Crown” currently holds the title for the second most expensive show ever made.

This new entertainment model presents an interesting dilemma in the consumption of television today.

While the quality of the shows are at the highest they’ve ever been, the access to such shows is becoming increasingly unavailable to the majority of the population. As such, the shared cultural knowledge that had been cultivated largely through the democratization of media will dissolve into different subsets, governed by which streaming service you subscribe to.

The time where shows like “Friends” or “Grey’s Anatomy” could dominate the cultural discussion is over; the common language of popular television will be divided, leaving little room for a shared dialogue. And even

this division could only happen with the assumption that one can afford a streaming service in the first place. If not, you’re completely left out of the discussion, alienated by popular culture for not being able to afford the extensive monthly costs.

One may believe that not all of these services can survive among the competition and will soon start to dissipate; however, special partnerships and offers make it seem like these services are here to stay.

For instance, even if people aren’t flocking to Hulu for their content, the partnership between Hulu and Spotify (where you can bundle TV and music streaming

for $9.99 per month) keeps the streaming service relevant, at the very least. Amazon Prime comes with both its famous two-day express shipping and the video platform, making it well worth the investment. Netflix, of course, is the original supergiant, and it’s hard to imagine it falling out of fashion anytime soon. The new massive media companies, Disney and Apple, will surely have enough means to keep their services stocked with quality television.

All this is to say that despite what may seem like a fragile business model, these streaming services will have quite a good foundation to keep running in

the near future. In turn, that could lead to an oligopoly, where these five or six businesses are essentially controlling the cultural landscape of television.

This overwhelming domination of an entire industry brings with it a horde of problems — the most important of which is the alienation of the common viewer, as there is little room to push back against these enormous corporations.

It is imperative that as we move forward into this new age of streamable media, the consumers are invited into the conversation about what we can watch, and how accessible that content should be.

Arts & Living 11

The Amherst Student • October 30, 2019

“Downton Abbey” the Movie Maintains Delight of TV Show

Photo courtesy of The BFD

The Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith) and Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) feature prominently in both the TV and film versions of “Downton Abbey.”

Alex Brandfonbrener ’23 Staff Writer Who is the “Downton Abbey” movie meant for? I see this question as an impediment in the creation of any TV movie that must both cater to a fervent fan base (even if it is made up of mostly old people, in the case of “Downton Abbey”) and a public that has not seen the show.

It’s a difficult seesaw to balance — juggling plot, characterization and character development, humor and a basic level of understanding. In addition, the stakes are especially high when dealing with such a critically-acclaimed show as “Downton Abbey,” which ended in 2015 after six seasons.

I fall into the party of movie-goers who are devoted fans of the TV show. My mom and I had a tradition where every Sunday, we would watch the show, looking out from layers of blankets into the world of the post-Victorian Crawley family and their panoramic estate, whose days of aperitifs and valets are marked with socioeconomic quandaries,

friendships, scandal (a whole lot of scandal) and romance (a whole lot of romance).

The heart of “Downton Abbey” as a TV series lies in the wide cast of characters — in particular, the self-serving and witty Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) who grows into her role as the future head of the house, finding love and empathy along the way, and Maggie Smith’s Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess who provides an endless portfolio of endlessly-quotable one-liners (my favorite: “What is a week-end?”).

The movie picks up a couple years after the show’s season six finale with only a handful of changes in the household. Most of these are undone as the movie progresses in order to stay true to the show’s dynamics, such as the departure of former head butler Mr. Carson, who returns from retirement early in the film.

The movie is effective in this regard. A highlight was the joy derived from revisiting the show’s relationships and friendships: the movie relies upon the couplings of the Dowager Countess and Mrs. Crawley, and Mr.

Carson and Mrs. Hughes. Both pairs are an older, more conservative formalist matched with a slightly younger, more liberal anti-authoritarian, whose differences are only offset by often unspoken love.

They bicker and disagree, their delightful rapport supplying the movie with humor (which the show also benefited from). Much of the movie’s sparkling charm comes from this sort of nostalgia for the show: the rolling hills of the English countryside and the people who inhabit it.

A handful of new characters, mostly new romantic partners for the few uncoupled characters in the show, liven the story.

I enjoyed Imelda Staunton’s Lady Bagshaw, who forces the Crawleys to consider their morals and provides a foil to the Dowager Countess.

I had hoped the two would exchange scathing quips, but their interactions are actually quite tame compared to some of the show’s heated moments.

This expectation may have been predicated upon the fact that the “Harry Potter” characters of both

actors, Professor McGonagall and Professor Umbridge, share a colorfully-illustrated hatred in the fifth movie of that series.

I really enjoyed the film, and this conclusion comes from my perspective as a dedicated fan.

If, however, I came into the film with no prior knowledge of the Crawleys and their bucolic English lifestyle, the question of whether or not I would have enjoyed this film is more challenging.

Much of the understanding of and appreciation for the characters’ struggles come from references to the show and the characters’ progression thus far.

Overall, however, the movie does offer a lot to non-fans, presenting a few good twists that I didn’t see coming, as well as some decent moments of tension, humor and cathartic resolution; nothing stands in these tactics’ way of engaging non-fans in the theater. In this regard, “Downton Abbey” the movie holds up on its own and is a passably-enjoyable movie.

The film’s independence helps fans as well by making a more

well-rounded and exciting movie. Unlike many movies based on TV shows whose characters end the running time of the movie exactly as they started it, “Downton Abbey” expands beyond the scope of the show.

The familiar world and characters of the TV show change irreversibly over the course of the movie as a result of the plot, in a way that feels similar to, yet independent from, the show. The movie was true to the show’s spirit while managing to engage its audience in a new way. In fact, as I noted in the theater, the movie feels like one long, extra high budget season finale.

There is charm in the discovery of a new world, especially one as developed and thought out as “Downton Abbey’s.” If you have never watched the show, you may not find the precise and sharp enjoyment of returning to a familiarity that I and many other fans experienced. But, the world of Downton Abbey and its fresh, new entry point in the form of this film are too good to warrant not watching the movie because of this difference.

Arts & Living 12

The Amherst Student • October 30, 2019

What Amherst’s Secular Chapel Sessions Mean to Me

Photo courtesy of Jessica Halem

Professors Jen Manion, Michael Kunichika and Martha Umphrey gather at secular chapel.

Ben Gilsdorf ’21 Contributing Writer Earlier this semester, Jen Manion, professor of history, and Michael Kunichika, professor of Russian, struck up a conversation about Serena Williams’ recent performance at the U.S. Open. “During our conversation, I realized that I have so much to say about Serena Williams,” Manion said. “And then I thought, ‘Why don’t I have a place to talk about Serena Williams?’”

From this brief conversation arose an idea for a new community building event, which the two called Secular Chapel. It would be a space where people could congregate and reflect on Serena Williams and her accomplishments, with the intent to expand into new topics of exploration and reflection in future gatherings.

They titled the first event “What Serena Williams Means To Me,”

and started inviting members of the Amherst community, including President Biddy Martin. “We were thinking [during our planning] about where to host this and I was like, ‘Can we reserve Johnson Chapel? Is that even reservable?’”

Manion said.

Ultimately, everything came together, and on Sunday, Sept. 8, the first ever Secular Chapel took place in Johnson Chapel. Although email invitations were sent out to different people on campus and included in the Daily Mammoth, turnout was relatively small.

The few students who did attend, however, said they enjoyed the event. One of those students was Nicole Chung ’22, who saw the announcement in the campus newsletter and thought it would be interesting to hear about Williams. “It was very relaxed, just a conversation between the two of them [Kunichika and Manion]

about Serena Williams and what she meant to them,” said Chung.

She added that she appreciated that Secular Chapel had a communal feeling without seeming too religious.

Walking this line between talking about an individual and deifying them was one of the main focuses of the organizers. “Secular Chapel is supposed to be deeply humanizing without mythologizing,” said Kunichika.

This was something that was especially important at the second meeting, which focused on Ruth Bader Ginsburg in preparation for the Supreme Court justice’s visit to campus. For many people, the justice’s ascent into “the Notorious RBG” became a point of reflection and consideration, while others talked about the country’s obsession with the justice’s physical health as an example of the largerthan-life persona she has become

among people on the political left.

One of the most important parts of Secular Chapel is the focus on individual reflection; the question is not “Who is Serena Williams?” or “Who is Ruth Bader Ginsburg?” but rather, “Who are they to me?”

To Kunichika, “Our fundamental question is ‘how can someone be meaningful to people in so many different ways?’ and we are interested in parsing out how people and things acquire meaning to us.

For RBG, it was amazing to see how each person there brought up a different facet of who she is and what she means, and taken together, we have a broader understanding of her role in our lives.”

It’s here where Secular Chapel has the most impact. It’s made me feel closer and more connected with the other members of the Amherst community in attendance.

Although the discussions are centered around an individual, there are so many ways in which that one individual can be important to so many others. A conversation broadly about Williams can easily become a conversation about her abilities as an athlete, about the role of sports in America, about the media coverage of black athletes or about the way we talk about female athletes and their decisions to have children. To everyone in the audience, Williams meant something different, and their answers were a reflection of who they are and what is important to them. These perspectives are often different from our own, and by listening to them we can better empathize with one another and start to understand our community better.

Importantly, Secular Chapel is a place where none of this feels forced. While the conversation touches on serious topics like race, gender, religion and class, it does so in a way that feels accessible and natural. Speaking about sexism in the workplace by talking about RBG provides a real-life example of the adversity women face, while also uplifting the story of someone who has come so far despite it.

Secular Chapel has the unique ability to make these weighty conversations and concerns fun. A

catered reception inside Johnson Chapel follows every meeting with the opportunity to mingle and follow up on the ideas discussed earlier. There’s also always singing under the supervision of Secular Chapel choir director and Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought Professor Martha Umphrey. Manion laughingly explained, “We actually spent the most time picking songs for the first event.”

“Singing together makes the event something more than just being in the same space together,” said Umphrey. “You’re engaging in a project. You might not know all the words, but you’re still generating a sense of belonging that’s necessary for something like Secular Chapel.” Her selection for the first meeting was the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” inspired by Williams’ recent loss at the U.S. Open, while the second meeting’s song was Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing” in reference to RBG’s steadfast persistence.

For Manion, the bottom line is about building community. “It’s so important to come together and reflect. [At Secular Chapel] we’re just being together and talking about something that matters.” After a divisive spring semester and with Amherst looking for ways to improve the sense of belonging on campus, I think that Secular Chapel’s focus on community building is desperately needed. Although Secular Chapel’s approach to community building is a little unorthodox, I find that it avoids a lot of the awkwardness usually associated with community building exercises.

Sitting with a group of people and reflecting on why someone matters to us gives us the opportunity to think about ourselves and what we value, while also learning more about what matters to our peers. It allows us to find out what we have in common, and more importantly, to learn where we differ and how in a laid back and enjoyable environment.

The more people who attend, the more valuable it is, so I encourage everyone to attend the final session of Secular Chapel at noon on Sunday, Nov. 10.

Sports Flipping The Script: Bryce Johnson’s Unique Talent Jack Dove ’23 Staff Writer When Bryce Johnson ’21 was initially spotted as a high school player by Amherst men’s soccer head coach Justin Serpone, he wasn’t showing off his speed, tackling or foot skills.

Johnson started playing soccer at the age of five, but it was his passion for another sport that taught him the mechanics of the famous “flip throw” that first caught Serpone’s eye.

“I did gymnastics when I was little,” said Johnson, “so I could already do the front handspring.

When I was 9 years old, I decided to give flip throwing a shot.” The flip throw, which adds velocity and power through centripetal force, extends the viable range of the throw-in and transforms it into a set piece.

The long throw has been a defining feature of several successful teams, most notably the 2016 Iceland national squad which, against all odds, used the power of Aron Gunnarsson’s throw to stun the world. The flip throw, however, is uniquely utilized by Johnson.

This year’s Mammoths are glad

Johnson developed the skill; Johnson has started in 13 of 14 games this year, helping lead Amherst to a 12-0-2 record, first place in the NESCAC, and the No. 1 overall ranking in DIII soccer. Johnson is a fan favorite; his throws can travel up to 70 yards, making throw-ins at midfield a genuine scoring opportunity.

Johnson played two seasons at a developmental academy before playing club soccer in Plano, Texas.

It was at a Peak Performance Academy soccer camp that Serpone first began to recruit him, and by August 2017, Johnson was a first-year on an Amherst squad coming off of a national championship victory during the previous season.

“As a freshman, I would say that the whole senior class was very welcoming and they made me feel like I was a part of the team from the get-go,” Johnson said. He made an immediate impact, starting 13 of 19 games in 2017. His most vivid memory of the season came on an October weekend when the Mammoths played Tufts and Rutgers-Newark back to back.

“They were both ranked teams, so that was one of our biggest weekends of the year,” said John-

son. “We beat Tufts 1-0, and then won against Rutgers-Newark 2-1 in overtime.” What Johnson failed to mention was the fact that he scored the game-winning goal against Tufts and added a crucial assist in the Rutgers-Newark game.

Fast forward two years, and Johnson has grown into the shoes of the leaders and mentors he first played with as a first year. When asked about Amherst’s undefeated record, Johnson gave the credit to effort and team chemistry: “We’ve done a great job bringing it every

game with high energy and focus.

We’re gelling as a unit right now.”

On Saturday, Oct. 12, the Mammoths passed their biggest test of this season, dethroning the formerly No. 1 ranked Tufts Jumbos. “It felt pretty good,” said Johnson, “especially because they beat us twice last year and knocked us out of the NCAA tournament.”

Johnson isn’t just a gymnast or a soccer player; a current economics and Spanish major, he’s finding Amherst to be a substantial, yet rewarding, academic challenge. “As

long as you do your work and stay on top of things,” said Johnson, “it’s not too bad. My priority is academics, and I like the liberal arts aspect of Amherst.”

Whether studying economics in the classroom, catapulting flip throws on Hitchcock Field or answering questions for The Student, Johnson carries himself with humility and purpose, and will continue to do the same as the men’s soccer team pursues a NESCAC title and a DIII National Championship title.

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Bryce Johnson ’21 has turned his gymnastics background into a weapon for Amherst, using a unique flip throw-in to launch the ball upwards of 70 yards.

Undefeated Men’s Soccer Success Reminiscent of 2015-16 Jack Dove ’23 Staff Writer Just how good is the Amherst men’s soccer team this year? With a dominant 2-1 win over Bates on Saturday, Amherst continued its streak of success.

Bryce Johnson ’21 and Ignacio Cubeddu ’23 each netted goals in the first half for the Mammoths, who were relatively untroubled by the Bobcats, despite conceding a point in the 70th minute when the game had already been decided.

Head coach Justin Serpone’s squad seems to have a solid chance to succeed this year. Consider a comparison in the statistics of this

year’s Mammoths and the 2015 squad, who brought home a DIII National Championship trophy.

In 2015, Amherst headed into its final regular season game with a record of 14-0 and 9-0 in the NESCAC. They took 17.6 shots per game and netted 2.14 goals per game while giving up just 0.23, posting a dominant average goal differential of 1.91. That squad went on to lose its only game in the NESCAC championship, finishing the season with an 18-1-2 record and a national championship.

Four years later, the Mammoths are thundering into the home stretch at a remarkably similar speed; they currently carry an

undefeated record of 12-0-2, 7-0-2 in the NESCAC. Taking 23.3 shots per game (first in DIII), this year’s marks of 2.57 goals per game and 0.69 allowed combine to form a relatively equal average goal differential of 1.88.

As of press time, this year’s Mammoths seem poised to finish the regular season in similar form to the 2015 squad heading into the NESCAC Tournament.

While the two teams sported similar average goal differentials, this year’s team is shooting and scoring at a much higher rate.

The 2.57 goals per game mark set by the 2019 Mammoths is a

testament to the team’s offensive firepower and a big reason why the team is currently on top of the DIII soccer landscape.

Amherst is ranked first overall in shots per game, and star striker German Giammattei ’22 sits at second in individual goals per game with an astounding mark of 1.42. Giammattei recently set the Amherst single-season scoring record with his game-winning goal in overtime versus Colby.

Defender Jack O’Brien ’21 had high praise for the offense: “Our attacking players have been great all year. They’re all great individual players, but I think their chemistry and the way they complement

each other are what really make them special. We’re happy to have them and we’re looking forward to seeing what they do in the near future.”

The 2019 Amherst Mammoths have an individual record holder, lead the nation in shots and overall ranking and show strong statistical similarities to the 2015 group that won a national championship.

As Johnson put it, “there is no cap on what Amherst soccer can accomplish this year.”

Amherst heads to Trinity on Wednesday, Oct. 30 for their final regular season game, and will likely host their NESCAC quarterfinal match on Saturday, Nov. 2.

The Amherst Student • October 30, 2019

Sports 14

The Student Sits Down With Natalie Landau ’21

Kasia Krosniak ’21 Staff Writer

Q: Can you share with us why you play soccer?

A: I’m a junior English and political science double major from Providence, Rhode Island. I have a golden retriever named Bear who is instafamous (@bear.the.golden. pup), and a younger sister who is, unfortunately, going to Williams.

In terms of soccer, I’ve loved the sport since I started playing at age five. But playing soccer here has been about much more than my love for the game itself because of the family that is AWS [Amherst Women’s Soccer] and the incredible support system that it has given me. We’re a group of 30 women who care about, support and empower each other to be the best we can be on and off the field, and being part of that environment has been incredibly special.

Q: How has your season been going so far?

A: We’ve had some tough losses to incredibly strong NESCAC competition, but over fall break we had a great win against Springfield. We’re looking to carry that

momentum into the rest of our regular season, and most importantly, the playoff season. Our goal every year as a program is to win the NESCAC championship and compete for a national championship, and I think everyone on our team believes that we are talented enough to do both of those things this year. That being said, we’re focused on taking it one day and one game at a time.

Q: What about you personally?

What are your goals with soccer?

A: As an attacking player on the team, my goal for every game is always to score. But my personal goals are much less important than the team goal, which is to play the best that we can and ultimately win as much as possible.

Right now, my goal is to be present in every minute of being part of the team. I’ve come to realize how fleeting the experience really is, and so I’ve been focused on just having fun and enjoying every single moment.

Q: You mentioned your team’s strong support system. How does that help you off the field?

A: The support system of [the team] manifests itself in a variety of ways. I think first, there is the

personal, relationship-building level, where the team gives you people that you feel comfortable with and are there for you unconditionally. Then there is the more academic level. Being on a team of such incredible and hardworking student-athletes provides you with so many great role models off the field.

So many of my teammates have built great relationships with professors and other staff at this school, so that when I went into a Spanish class my freshman year and told the professor I was on the soccer team, they said ‘Oh that’s great. I’ve taught so many of your teammates and they were great additions to my classes and I expect the same from you.’

Lastly, there’s a professional level. In terms of searching for what to do after college, the alumni network within Amherst women’s soccer is extremely tightly-knit and through it, I’ve been exposed to a variety of opportunities and fields and been provided with mentors who have been able to help me through the process of thinking about life after graduation.

Q: Lastly, what’s something you

would want people to know about AWS that they might not already?

A: While I hope that everyone knows that our team has a reputation of being more than just athletes on this campus, I think what I would want everyone to know about AWS is that we are not just great soccer players, but also great people who are talented, hardworking, driven, passionate and of course, super humble.

What I am most proud of about our team culture is the way that we treat each other. I think there is a stereotype that girls are always tearing each other apart and putting each other down constantly in every sphere, socially, emotionally, in school, in the workforce, and we don’t do that.

We raise each other up and push each other to be our best selves, and I think that is what makes us, as a team, so special.

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Natalie Landau ’21 has scored three goals and tallied one assist in the Mammoths’ efforts this season.

The Roundup: All the Stuff You Missed In Sports This Week Field Hockey: After taking down Colby in an upset victory last weekend, Amherst traveled to face Bates this Saturday. Sage Geyer ’22 broke down the Bobcats’ defense when she scored on a redirect from a penalty corner.

Bates responded at the end of the first quarter to tie the game, but Amherst struck back as time wound down in the second corner to put the Mammoths in the lead headed into halftime.

The second half, however, was dominated by Bates, who in addition to dominating possession and earning more penalty corners, scored two goals in the span of 50 seconds late in the third period to snatch victory from the Mammoths. Amherst returned to action on Tuesday night when they faced Trinity in Hartford.

Amherst started strong, as Franny Daniels ’21 netted a goal three minutes into the match. However, Trinity would battle back, evening the score at 1-1 late in the fourth quarter.

Despite the chance to take the lead back, the Bantams’ attack proved too strong, and Trinity scored a decisive goal with two minutes left to win 2-1.

Women’s Soccer:

The Mammoths made a statement with a win on Saturday when they traveled to Lewiston, Maine to take on Bates. Sophia Fikke ’22 opened the scoring three minutes into the match when she tapped on home past the Bobcats netminder.

Ruby Hastie ’22, who has excelled on the wing this season, added to the tally when her shot went off the post and into the back of the net. Alexa Juarez ’22 recovered her own header after it ricocheted off the crossbar, and shot to bring the Mammoths up 3-0.

Juarez would later tally another goal, this time with her head directly. With the win, Amherst moves 5-3-1 in the NESCAC as the playoff picture comes into focus. Amherst traveled to face Trinity on Tuesday in order to book a ticket to the NESCAC Tournament.

The Mammoths and the Bantams remained scoreless through the first half, but Sloane Askins ’20 slotted home a goal early in the second frame to put the Mammoths up 1-0. Amherst continued the scoring, winning 4-1.

NBA Controversy Surrounding Hong Kong and China: Earlier this month, Houston Rockets general manager Dar-

yl Morey posted a now-deleted tweet expressing his support for protests in Hong Kong opposing the undemocratic changes to the city’s governance model. The Chinese goverment retaliated by condemning the remarks, censoring games and blacking out the Rockets’ first games of the year. China is currently the NBA’s biggest international market. Adam Silver and the rest of the league defended Morey and other players’ rights to free speech. The league has been criticized for its stances by both the government of the United States and the government of China, with Vice President Mike Pence labeling the NBA a “wholly-owned subsidiary of [China’s] authoritarian regime.”

This schism between the league and its long-standing and profitable partner comes on the heels of a $1.5 billion agreement between the NBA and Shenzen, China, based Tencent Holdings to broadcast the league’s games online in China. The league had previously said that it had hoped the beginning of the season would temper the feud, but an end does not seem to be on the cards for the two parties.

Even if the official channels are closed, the NBA’s brand remains strong, with tens of millions of Chinese citizens tuning into games over the weekend.

The Amherst Student • October 30, 2019

Volleyball Hits Two Bumps in the Road on Path to Playoffs Connor Haugh ’21 Managing Sports Editor The volleyball team encountered its first rough patch this weekend after an extremely successful start to the season. Friday night was senior night in LeFrak Gymnasium, where the Firedogs honored seniors Candace Chung, Claire Dennis, Charlotte Duran, Cameron Hendricks, Emily Kolsky and Adelaide Shunk before the team’s match against Tufts.

With such an experienced core group of team members playing in front of friends and family, one might expect an inspired performance. The first set was a back-andforth affair, with both teams playing solid and consistent volleyball, but neither team gaining a definitive advantage. Late in the first set, however, the Jumbos were able to pull away slightly and took over to win 25-21.

After Tufts jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the second set, Amherst head coach Sue Everden took a timeout in an attempt to rally a response from the Firedogs. Tufts kept winning points, however, but when Everden took another timeout, Amherst was able to narrow the gap to just one point, 23-24. This rally, however, fell short, with the Jumbos managing to take the final point.

The Mammoths put together a valiant effort in the third set, but Tufts took the final set and swept the Firedogs, who were left to lick their wounds. A cursory look at the stat sheet would not show much — Amherst committed fewer errors than Tufts in defense. Looking at offensive

metrics, however, shows the fatal flaw in Amherst’s performance. The Firedogs’ hitting percentage, which equates to the number of successful attacks, was just under 25 percent, while the Jumbos were roughly 10 percent better by this metric.

Amherst looked to rebound the next day when they took on rivals Bowdoin, who defeated them in the NESCAC finals last season. The same fate that befell them on Friday night, however, came to be on Saturday afternoon. The Firedogs were stifled by the Polar Bears, who held Amherst below 20 points in each of the three sets played.

Kolsky, playing in one of her final home games of her career, earned eight kills on the night. Her second kill of the evening, early in the first set, was her 1000th career kill, an impressive feat and testament to the longevity of her career under Everden.

Offensively, the Mammoths continued to struggle, leaving the match with a hitting percentage of only eight percent. Bad luck comes in threes, according to an old mariner’s adage, but Amherst was keen to prove this wrong as they faced the Coast Guard Academy on Tuesday night. Amherst responded to the tough weekend with a convincing 3-0 sweep, winning each set easily.

As the playoff picture comes into focus, Amherst will have to regroup and get its offense back on track if it wishes to hold the same aspirations of success as last year and potentially claim an elusive NESCAC title after coming so close last season.

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Setter Charlotte Duran ’20 contributed 19 assists in the loss, bringing her career total to 2779.

Sports 15

Views from Sparrow’s Nest Matt Sparrow ’21 Columnist Matt Sparrow explains the events behind the firing of Houston Astros’ Assistant General Manager Brandon Taubman and discusses the significance of his termination in the domains of organizational values and the fake news movement.

In the midst of a busy sports week, from the beginning of basketball season to the NFL trade deadline to most notably the World Series, one piece of news that flew under the radar was the Houston Astros firing their assistant general manager. What should’ve been a time for celebration— the team stands just one win away from their second title in three years— is now an opportunity to reflect on how the organization handled the situation and what MLB needs to do to change the culture.

In a story published by Sports Illustrated last Monday, the day before Game 1 of the World Series, reporter Stephanie Apstein alleged that Brandon Taubman, the Astros’ assistant general manager shouted “Thank God we got Osuna! I’m so f—ing glad we got Osuna!” in front of a group of three female reporters. The actions happened on Saturday night in a champagne-filled clubhouse after the Astros defeated the Yankees to clinch their spot in the World Series.

The significance of Taubman’s comments stems from the player that he’s referencing, Astros closer Roberto Osuna. Osuna, one of the best young relievers in the game, had established himself as an AllStar in 2017 with the Toronto Blue Jays. However, on June 22, 2018, he was suspended by MLB for 75 games retroactive to May 8 after he was found to have violated the league’s domestic violence policy when he assaulted the mother of his 3-year-old child.

The context is also important to fully grasp the gravity of the situation. Taubman was heaping praise on Osuna following his worst performance of the postseason. Put into the game with the Astros just three outs from the World Series, Osuna gave up a game-tying tworun homer to New York Yankees

second baseman DJ LeMahieu.

While the Astros would walk it off on a home run by Jose Altuve in the bottom of the ninth, there wasn’t any reason to be applauding Osuna — he had nearly cost the Astros the game, and their season.

There’s no questioning the intentions of Taubman. One of the female reporters to which he addressed the comments wears a purple bracelet to raise awareness about domestic violence and had criticized the Astros for rostering Osuna. He was attempting to intimidate a group of female reporters by “supporting” a player who has a very public past of beating women. As shocking as Taubman’s behavior was, the response of the team was almost as disappointing.

Soon after the report surfaced, the Astros released a statement refuting the story by calling it “completely irresponsible” and arguing that Taubman was “supporting the player during a difficult time.”

It wasn’t long before a number of journalists came forward corroborating Apstein’s story, adding more fuel to the fire. MLB pledged to open an investigation into the matter, but the tone of some Astros employees raised further questions. Manager AJ Hinch struck a more sympathetic tone by saying “No one — it doesn’t matter if it’s a player, a coach, a manager, any of you members of the media — should ever feel like when you come into our clubhouse that you’re going to be uncomfortable or disrespected.” Taubman’s boss, General Manager Jeff Luhnow, seemed to defend his employee.

“He hasn’t had this type of incident before,” Luhnow said. “This is not a repeating pattern of anything, which is why it was so easy for — one reason why it was so easy — for us to believe that it was more innocent than it turned out to be.”

The ax finally fell on Thursday.

The Astros announced that they had gathered more information by interviewing members of the club who had been present at the festivities. As such, they confirmed that Taubman’s comments were directed at the female reporters.

They apologized to Apstein and Sports Illustrated for repudiating the content of the story and fired Taubman because his “conduct does not reflect the values of our organization and we believe this is the most appropriate course of action.”

In just three days, the Astros went from vehemently denying any wrongdoing to firing their assistant general manager. How can the system change so that men like Taubman are held accountable from the outset and reporters like Apstein can feel comfortable doing their job without someone telling them they’re lying?

First of all, I think that we have to be more critical of the players themselves. I believe that people deserve a second chance, but only if their behavior merits it. Should Osuna ever run into trouble again, he should be banned for life, no questions asked. And I would never spend a dime of my own money purchasing a shirt that bears Osuna’s name.

We also should believe more women when they are speaking out against someone and not immediately discredit their stories (not to mention making sure that members of the front office don’t drink too much in the clubhouse while celebrating). Finally, it’s important that we believe journalists when they release a report. Nowadays, we can be hesitant to trust a source because of “fake news” and other allegations of the sort.

The Astros tried to chalk this up to a reporter wanting to make up a story where there wasn’t one. They were wrong.

The Amherst Student • October 30, 2019

Sports 16

Football Defeated in Double Overtime Thriller Cale Clinton ’20 Staff Writer Homecoming is a special time here at Amherst College. For a short, 48-hour stretch, every student’s stress, concerns and responsibilities get put on the back burner to celebrate in purple and white. graduates, both recent and distant, flock back to their stomping grounds to soak up some nostalgia. At the centerpiece of this joyous celebration of all things Amherst, is, of course, the football game.

This past weekend, the 4-2 Mammoths hosted the 5-1 Wesleyan Cardinals for a clash of Little Three rivals. Homecoming football games always seem to have an extra sense of energy in the air that’s palpable in the stands and on the field, and this match was certainly no exception. Unfortunately, the Mammoths fell up short in double overtime as Wesleyan kicked a game-winning field goal to make the final score 31-28.

This game had a theme of Amherst coming out hot early, then fading as the half ended. Amherst quarterback Ollie Eberth ’20 looked dialed in on the Mammoths’ first possession, putting together an eight-play, 75-yard drive culminating in a one-yard pass to wide receiver Daniel Dolan ’22. After the Mammoths’ defense forced a punt, Eberth locked in again, this time taking care of things on his own with a 25-yard touchdown scramble. Eberth, showing flashes of a

GAME SCHE DULE

quarterback that should be playing somewhere way more competitive than NESCAC football, was quickly taken back to reality when the team’s next drive was solely made up of a sack, incompletion and interception. The pick by the Cardinals was returned for 22 yards, setting up a 36-yard dash to the end zone for Wesleyan in the last minute of the first quarter.

Amherst’s skid continued into the second quarter, as the offense’s 11-play, 45-yard dink-and-dunk drive stalled at midfield, forcing a punt for touchback. Constant pressure by the Mammoths kept the Cardinals at bay, but Wesleyan would soon get the ball back on Eberth’s second of three interceptions. Wesleyan would capitalize on the turnover, bringing it all the way down to the Amherst one-yard line before punching it in and taking a 21-14 lead. This would mark the second straight quarter with a Wesleyan touchdown in the last 60 seconds.

The fervor of fans at halftime, coupled by whatever pep talk head coach EJ Mills delivered at halftime, seemingly snapped the Mammoths out of whatever funk they had fallen into. Starting the third quarter with the ball, Amherst relied heavily on the run to eat up nearly eight minutes of clock en route to a game-tying touchdown. The defense would rise to the occasion once again, forcing a three-and-out to get the ball back in the offense’s hands. Junior tailback Kellen Field ’21 found

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Brandon Huff ’22 was part of the Mammoths’ rushing attack, which found success in the second half. daylight on a 28-yard run to set Amherst up inside the 10-yard line.

It was Eberth again, using his legs to pull Amherst out front, 28-21.

As soon as the momentum swung their way, it was just as soon be taken away. After Amherst and Wesleyan traded punts, the Cardinals once again struck deep, scoring on a 62-yard pass to tie things up once more. With Amherst failing to cross midfield on three straight drives, Wesleyan was set to win the game on a chip shot field goal in the closing seconds. Blaine Fox ’20 was not ready to head home yet, rushing through the middle to block the Wesleyan field goal, forcing overtime.

The Amherst defense stayed on

the field to start overtime, and again they held their ground on the field goal block, forcing Wesleyan kicker Mason Von Jess to miss his second straight kick, both from inside 25 yards. With their game on the line, Amherst put together a puzzling drive. The Mammoths rushed five plays in a row. Despite gaining positive yards on every rush, Amherst decided to kick a field goal on third down. The ball hit the same goalpost Von Jess had struck the drive prior.

Amherst then continued to make questionable plays on the next drive. Eberth, who hadn’t thrown a pass since early in the fourth quarter, took a shot for the end zone only to have it fall in the hands of a Wes-

leyan defensive back. The Cardinals would finally solve their kicking woes, sending the ball through the uprights to close the game at 31-28.

The Wesleyan Cardinals advance to a 6-1 record to maintain their second-place position in the NESCAC standings, tied with Williams. The Mammoths fall to 4-3 in a three-way tie for fourth with Hamilton and Trinity.

With any and all hopes for a NESCAC championship dashed, the most Amherst can hope to do at this rate is play spoiler against a hopeful Williams team in two weeks’ time. Make sure to come out this Saturday, when the Mammoths will take on Trinity at home on senior day.

WED SAT Men’s Soccer @ Trinity, 7 p.m.

Volleyball @ Williams, 1 p.m.

FRI

Football vs. Trinity, 1 p.m.

Volleyball @ Hamilton, 7 p.m.

Men’s Cross Country @ NESCAC Championships Women’s Cross Country @ NESCAC Championships

Women’s Soccer NESCAC Tournament Quarterfinal, TBD Men’s Soccer NESCAC Tournament Quarterfinal, TBD Field Hockey NESCAC Tournament Quarterfinal, TBD Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Daniel Dolan ’22 made seven receptions, including two touchdown catches in the loss.