“Can I talk about how I was raised by bears?” Michelle Escobar asked as she set her tray down to begin our interview over dinner at Val. For anyone who’s known Escobar at Amherst, this imaginative albeit unhelpful introduction comes as no surprise.
Escobar is a Theatre and Dance and Spanish double major at Amherst, which speaks to a lot of things about her nature: she’s energetic, spunky, animated and always up for a little performing.
While Association of Amherst Students President Romen Borsellino served as the elected face of the student body this year, his commitment to student government and everything else that he has touched at Amherst goes far beyond mere appearances. Although he long loved politics and dedicated to making the school a better place through his roles on the AAS, the friendships he forged in the past four years too have undoubtedly played a major role in shaping his Amherst experience.
Leah Longoria, like many students at the College, at first didn’t know what she wanted to major in. Luckily, she discovered her love for film just in time — the Film and Media Studies department was created at the start of her junior year. Even though she was already a Math major, Longoria dove straight into the FAMS department. Not only was she able to complete the requirements, but she also excelled in her courses and wrote an eloquent, insightful thesis examining death in television.
Looking through Nathan Nash’s résumé, the first thought that pops into my head is: how much sleep does this guy get?
“Oh, you know, four to five hours,” answers Nash, an ever-indulgent grin plastered on his face. I stare, incredulous, and he acquiesces a little.
“Six or seven since I finished my thesis.” He pauses for a second, then chuckles. “They used to call me a vampire back when I was an RC in Porter House [my sophomore year] because I never slept.”
Last Saturday, the Judiciary Council of the Association of Amherst Students released their decision on the election complaint concerning the elections held on April 5. The JC decided to nullify the results of the presidential and treasurer elections, while not punishing any of the elections’ candidates, and to run a new election for those two races. The JC also decided to release the results of the vice president, secretary and judiciary council chair positions.
On March 16, the President’s Office sent an email to students and other members of the College community announcing the Comprehensive Fee for the 2012-2013 academic year. The fee, which covers tuition, room and board, will be increased to $55,510. This represents a four percent increase over the 2011-2012 fee, making it approximately double the rate of inflation over the same period of time.
On March 30, two Amherst students, Bess Hanish ’13 and Khan Shoieb ’13, received the Truman Scholarship, a prestigious award given to “find and recognize college juniors with exceptional leadership potential who are committed to careers in government, the nonprofit or advocacy sectors, education or elsewhere in the public service.” The Truman Scholarship was created in 1975 as a living memorial to the eponymous president and is administered by the Truman Foundation, an indepedent federal executive branch agency led by former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright.
