The 2014 midterm election was historic for political parties, minorities and women.
For political parties, the American people voted decisively against the failed policies of the Obama administration, which the President himself said were “on the ballot, every single one of them.” Voters gave Republicans a majority in the Senate and the largest majority in the House in 86 years. In fact, since President Obama took office, Democrats have lost at least 13 seats in the Senate and 69 seats in the House — the greatest number of seats under any president since Truman.
Loneliness is a problem at Amherst College. The 2014 National College Health Assessment conducted last semester reported that 76 percent of Amherst students felt “very lonely” within the past year, compared to 56 percent nationally. But this isn’t a new issue for us: the Student Health Educators began their “social cups” initiative in 2013 to combat the stigma associated with going to Val alone.
Robert Lucido '15, the president of Amherst College Republicans, writes responding to the controversy surrounding the "All Lives Matter" campaign.
Last week, a new student group on campus called Black Lives Matter showed great initiative by organizing a series of events highlighting police brutality against persons of color. Not only was it encouraging to see such activism, but their events and corresponding social media efforts also garnered attention for a troubling issue that disproportionately affects individuals of color.
This letter was sent by 22 senior professors to President Biddy Martin and Cullen Murphy ‘74, the chair of the Board of Trustees, urging the college to divest from fossil fuels.
Dear Biddy and Cullen,
We write to urge you, and the Board of Trustees, to move toward divesting the college of holdings in those corporations that are committed to fossil fuel extraction to the exclusion of making serious investments in renewable energy.
Dear students,
I am writing to you in an effort to re-imagine how the AAS interacts with student organizations and the student body as a whole. I want to build our relationships based on more than just funding student events. However, I will need your help.
As part of this, I would like to invite you, or your student group, to the next AAS meeting and have you take the floor and walk us through some things you want accomplish this school year. I want to make time every AAS meeting for at least a couple of students to share their vision and help make it a reality.
The idea of admitting women to Amherst once faced bitter opposition from alumni, sharply divided the Board of Trustees and caused heated debates among the faculty and the student body. The matter was settled 40 years ago when Amherst opened its doors to women. So now that we’re all here, is coeducation really superior to other alternatives?
Last week, no matter where they were on campus, students couldn’t help but encounter the Black Lives Matter campaign. Posters raising awareness about incidents of police brutality confronted students walking out of Merrill, running to Val, heading home for a quick nap. Students who generally didn’t have to think about this issue much less fear for their lives on a daily basis were forced to confront this blatant inequality. Though some of us normally live our daily lives completely blind to this issue, the campaign pushed us out of the personal (and collective) Amherst bubble.
