The college’s orientation committee is currently working on a new orientation schedule for fall 2015 and hopes to shorten Amherst’s nine-day orientation by two days. The committee, made up of 11 students and administrators, has devised a new mission statement for orientation in order to further clarify the week’s purpose.
Laura Draucker started work as the college’s first ever director of environmental sustainability this month, leading the recently founded Office of Environmental Sustainability.
The runoff round for the Association of Amherst Students presidential election on Oct. 2 declared Tomi Williams ’16 as the winner by a margin of more than 9 percent.
In order to win the election, a candidate must accrue more than 50 percent of the votes. The first round, which happened on Sept. 23, produced no clear winner. As a result, Peter Crane ’15 and Williams, the two candidates with the highest numbers of votes, advanced to a runoff round.
Q: What is your thesis about?
A: I am studying the causes and effects of parasites, specifically blowfly larvae, on nestling birds. My three major objectives are to see the nest characteristics that predispose nests to parasites, the effects blowflies have on growth and development of birds, and whether blowflies stimulate an immune response from birds. I spent a couple months this summer in the College’s bird sanctuary with my adviser, professor Clotfelter, and two SURF (Science Undergraduate Research Fellows) students, Tiffany Lee ’16 and Lindsey Bechen ’16.
Taylor Penzel ’15, Psychology and Spanish double major, is writing her senior thesis about children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and how they perceive their own social and academic competence. Her advisor is Professor Julia McQuade.
Student body president, economics thesis writer and soon-to-be graduate student at Columbia Law School … let me be honest: I was rather intimidated prior to interviewing George Tepe. But his animated character and charm quickly dissolved my preemptive anxiety, and Tepe and I flitted from one topic to another, conversing easily. He was enthusiastic about everything we discussed, from his political career to the Federal Reserve, and I am now anxious, quite differently than before, that I won’t be able to perfectly capture his effervescence.
A True “AAS Nerd”
Ben Boatwright is a senior double majoring in geology and music. His geology thesis focuses on Martian terrestrial valley networks. His thesis advisors are Mt. Holyoke’s Visiting Assitant Professor of Astronomy Caleb Fassett and Amherst College Geology and Environmental Studies Professor Anna Martini.
