The faculty voted on Nov. 3 to approve a pilot program that will extend the pre-registration process to four weeks. The motion to approve the program passed with a vote of 57 in favor, 46 against and eight abstaining.
The pilot program will be implemented by the registrar’s office and will be in place for pre-registration next spring semester.
The Association of Amherst Students and the Office of Institutional Research distributed an online survey on loneliness to the student body on Nov. 3.
In the 2014 National College Health Assessment survey, 76 percent of Amherst College respondents reported feeling “very lonely.” But because only 30 percent of students took the survey, the results were not statistically valid. This year, AAS senator Evelyn Ting ’17 and Michael Bessey ’18E worked with the Office of Institutional Research to organize a more accurate survey.
Lilia Paz ’16 is writing a European Studies thesis on an order of Spanish nuns. She was inspired to choose this topic while studying abroad in Spain last year. Her thesis adviser is Smith College religion professor Carol Zaleski.
Professor Collin Raymond taught economics at University of Oxford before coming to Amherst. his academic focus is the intersection of psychology and economics.
Students and staff met in Cole Assembly Room for a forum on the college’s mascot hosted by the Association of Amherst Students on Monday, Nov. 1. The discussion addressed the possibility of eliminating and replacing the current unofficial mascot, the Lord Jeff.
During the first hour and a half of the forum, participants discussed whether the Lord Jeff should remain Senator Sam Keaser ’17E began the discussion by reviewing the contents of a recent letter published by the senate, which announced its opposition to the Lord Jeff as unofficial mascot.
The Social Project Work Group met with the Office of Student Affairs on Oct. 23 to work out plans for the upcoming social club trial period. The meeting followed the Oct. 5 vote in which 64 percent of the student body voted in favor of holding the trial period.
“To have 1,200 students actually vote was huge,” said Dean of Students Alex Vasquez. The four classes were almost equally represented in the vote.
“The point of the discussion was to lay out a general timeline for implementing the clubs by next semester,” said Tom Sommers ’16, a member of the work group.
Signs bearing messages such as “Respect is an actual compliment” and “I am more than just my body” were placed along Route 9 last week as part of a campaign by the Peer Advocates of Sexual Respect to stop street harassment near campus. Over the course of the week, all but one of the signs went missing.
