Thesis Advisor: Jerome Himmelstein
Major: Political Science and Sociology
Q: What is your thesis about?
Last week, the Amherst College Admissions Office sent out acceptance letters to 1,077 Amherst hopefuls out of a pool of 7,918 applicants. Overall, these numbers are strikingly different from last year’s admissions figures, with a 7.54 percent drop in the total number of applicants, resulting in a higher acceptance rate than in recent years.
It is unclear whether the decrease in the number of applicants is a consequence of the recent publicity the college received in connection with incidents of sexual misconduct.
Room draw is upon the Amherst student body, and the factors that go into finding a good living situation for a coming semester have increased. In addition to attempting to find a centrally located single, perhaps in a suite with a common room, students now must also take into consideration the campus construction on the new science center that starts in earnest at the end of this school year.
Cheryl Rogers, executive director of the New England Learning Center for Women In Transition, writes in to share her gratitude to the Women of Amherst.
We respect our professors because we are enticed by their compassion, their broad-mindedness, their willingness to share, their bibliometric success and their love for learning. They impose themselves in our lives as moral authorities insofar as they embody many if not all of the principles that are of value in meritocratic society. However, every so often, they disappoint us. The latest to do so, in my very personal opinion, is Professor Hadley Arkes.
At the end of March, Professor Hadley Arkes wrote an article for The Catholic Thing titled “The Supreme Court Hears the Cases on Marriage,” discussing his views on gay marriage. This is by no means his only article professing his views on same-sex marriage, but it is the most recent and also the one I will respond to. Professor Arkes is a tenured Amherst professor in the Political Science department. His opinions continue to be valued in politics amidst the growing debate about same-sex marriage.
Black Alumni Weekend, a bi-annual event spearheaded by the Black Student Union and Office of Alumni Affairs, took place from Friday, April 5 until Sunday, April 7. More than 30 alumni returned to their alma mater eager to forge connections with current students and indulge in their college memories. Deeming the weekend as a powerful experience would be an understatement, as the weekend united students and alumni — ranging from the classes of 1972 to 2012 — into a single space to commemorate the past and look forward to the future.
