“We hold these truths to be self evident; that all men are created equal…”
A heated discussion took place in the AAS Senate meeting on Monday, and a large part of it concerned “privilege,” and being confronted with the “accusation” of being privileged. This article, while influenced by that discussion, is not focused on what happened at Senate, or on any other specific instance in particular, but aims to discuss a broader conception on what privilege is, and what being privileged means.
The AAS is not popular. Many students think the Senate does nothing at all, has misguided priorities and is full of privileged kids. But none of these perceptions are true.
Chris Friend ’14 wrote a Letter to the Editor to discuss last weekend’s incident of racist vandalism at Williams College.
Professor William H. Pritchard ’53 wrote a Letter to the Editor to discuss Amherst traditions.
Let’s face it: students are assigned a lot of work over break. This time every fall, professors dole out papers, problem sets and readings, each professor expecting students to prioritize the coursework she assigns over the others.
In fact, many students have come to expect getting assigned extra work for the extra time they have off over break. A majority of these students say that it interferes with their family plans and holiday travels.
Amherst has recently seen a huge push to organize more community-oriented events: from alternate locations for TAPs, to evening social events such as AC After Dark, to more senior-tradition oriented events. At the same time, we face a greater restraint on social spaces on campus, with a growing student body and a restriction on party locations due to Massachusetts fire regulations.
