Renowned author Chris Abani delivered a speech titled “My Face and Ours: Views of Today’s America” in Stirn Auditorium on Feb. 24. Abani’s talk focused on themes from his new book of essays, “The Face: Cartography of the Void,” and was part of a lecture series taking place to honor Black History Month. Abani commented on the complex undercurrents of race and individual and collective identity in people’s interactions with their own and others’ faces.
The Wellness Challenge is a four-week program aiming to promote mental health on campus from Feb. 1 to March 1. This is the program’s third year, with 465 students and 144 staff and faculty participating.
Amherst College archivists discovered a tape with the only known recording of Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech, “The Summer of Discontent.” College archivist Mariah Leavitt recently found the recording in a box donated by the WAMH radio station in 1989.
King’s speech took place at the New School, a university in New York City, on Feb. 6, 1964. The speech was a part of The American Race Crisis Lecture series hosted by the New School that featured speakers from the civil rights movement.
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The board of trustees announced the removal of Lord Jeffery Amherst as Amherst College’s unofficial mascot on Tuesday, Jan. 26.
The announcement followed the board’s annual meeting on Jan. 21 and 22. The board’s decision stated that the college will no longer use the Lord Jeff in official communications, messaging or symbolism. This includes changing the name of the Lord Jeffery Inn, which the college owns, and phasing out athletic gear displaying the Lord Jeff.
Megan Robertson is the epitome of an involved student athlete, quietly excelling at everything. From leading a championship basketball team to triple majoring in mathematics, statistics and history, Robertson does it all.
A Growing Dream
This past Saturday, May 2, the Amherst men’s rugby team went head to head with archrival Williams for the team’s last matchup of the season. The stakes were high, as the teams battled it out for glory as well as for the other team’s jerseys. Traditionally during the bi-annual Williams-Amherst matchup, the teams bet the shirts they are wearing on the outcome of the game. The warm weather provided ideal conditions, allowing the match to kick-off at 2 p.m. on Amherst’s home field.
The men’s track and field team traveled to the MIT track last Friday and Saturday on a beautiful weekend in Cambridge. The team got a feel for the mondo-surface track lying in the midst of the city, abutting the Charles River, as MIT hosted the Division III New England championships this weekend and will host the team again this coming Saturday for the competitive NEICAAA meet.
