A draft of Amherst’s self-study, the first step in the process of renewing accreditation with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), was sent to members of the college community for feedback on Feb. 9.
The process of reaccreditation began in Feb. 2016 when the Steering Committee on Reaccreditation, which is made up of a variety of administrators, faculty and staff, was first formed, according to Amherst’s reaccreditation website. Over the past two years, data on all aspects of the college have been collected and compiled into a 140-page draft.
Food justice activist and farmer Leah Penniman of Soul Fire Farm spoke on Thursday, Feb. 8 in Stirn Auditorium about the intersection of racial and environmental injustice and the food industry. The event was sponsored by the Office of Environmental Sustainability, the Victor S. Johnson Lectureship fund and the Multicultural Resource Center.
Amherst College’s life sciences departments, after receiving a substantial research grant, plan to select students for participation in an independent research program.
The college received the grant from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, which honors the legacy of the late Dr. Arnold Beckman, a chemist and philanthropist.
12 other colleges around the nation, including Barnard College, Boston College, the College of William and Mary and Texas A&M University, were also selected to receive a portion of the $1.5 million grant.
Dan Langa ’18 is a music major. For his thesis he composed an original score for the film “The Passion of Joan of Arc.” His thesis was performed at the Buckley Recital Hall on Feb. 2. His advisor is Lecturer in Music Ryan Vigil from the University of New Hampshire.
Data provided to The Student by a member of the Amherst College Emergency Medical Services (ACEMS) calls into question administrators’ assertion that the college needed to overhaul the Party Policy at the beginning of the semester due to a significant increase in risks to student wellbeing.
Student Affairs released an updated version of the Party Policy on Jan. 26 to student backlash. Changes include requiring one party sponsor per 20 people as opposed to the previous 50 and expecting party sponsors to work with staff to manage attendance levels.
The New York Times best-selling author Jeff Hobbs spoke at Amherst on Jan. 31 in Stirn Auditorium about his book “The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League.” The talk was hosted by the Conferences and Special Events Office.
Hobbs received a bachelor of arts in English language and literature from Yale in 2002 and published his first fiction novel, “The Tourists,” in 2007. He published his first work of nonfiction, “The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace,” in 2014.
Dianne Pater is a visiting assistant professor of biology and a consortium for faculty diversity scholar. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico and her doctorate from the University of California, San Diego.
