In fall 1975, as the first women arrived on Amherst’s campus for orientation, the student coach for men’s crew was recruiting novices to join the team. In an effort to fill more boats, he decided to hang flyers in women’s dorms as well as men’s.
“That kind of kicked off the athletic program for women,” said Professor of Physical Education Michelle Morgan, who arrived at Amherst a few years later in 1978.
Most students recognize Ben Walker for his campus activism surrounding divestment, or for his many accolades — the most recent being the prestigious Watson Fellowship and his honors law, jurisprudence and social thought thesis. Despite his accomplishments, in person Walker is refreshingly down-to-earth.
Professor Geoffrey Sanborn, who taught Walker in two classes, said he “loved the kind of warm, open, curious presence that [Ben] brings to the room.” He added: “His seriousness is never far from his playfulness, and he’s just basically a huge pleasure to be around.”
Senators for the classes of 2017, 2018 and 2019 as well as two judiciary council members were elected on April 26. The election was preceded by a night of speeches in Merrill 1 on April 21, where the candidates presented their platforms.
The classes of 2018 and 2017 only elected six representatives to the possible eight senate seats. To fill the vacant seats, the AAS will hold elections again in September.
The European Union Special Representative for Human Rights Stavros Lambrinidis ’84 gave a talk titled “Rights Without Borders? Foreign Policy and Human Rights in Today’s European Union” at Amherst College on April 19.
The Curriculum Committee held two open meetings on April 5 to present its preliminary recommendations for updating the Amherst curriculum. The Curriculum Committee was formed by the faculty’s Committee of Six based on recommendations made in the strategic plan approved last June. The Curriculum Committee will send proposals to the Committee of Six this fall semester and the faculty will vote on them.
The committee members largely agreed that the open curriculum is worth keeping, but that students needed better advising and other resources to help navigate the curriculum.
The Association of Amherst Students created a Task Force on Committee Membership to review student membership on faculty committees. The task force held its first meeting, which was open to all students, and plans to make a recommendation to the Senate by the end of this semester.
Amherst College hosted the inaugural LitFest this past weekend, bringing an array of notable authors and editors to campus. LitFest was composed of a series of events highlighting the college’s tradition of literary excellence.
