The Amherst Association of Students (AAS) Senate, which counts among its constitutional purposes a goal to “serve as an advocate for student interest, and present a forum for opinions and issues to be raised,” manages a budget comprised of the Student Activity Fees and a percentage of the tuition paid by each student.
“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.
