Are you familiar with the process of writing an honors thesis? Perhaps you’re a regular reader of The Amherst Student’s “Thoughts on Theses” column, an underclassman curious about undertaking a capstone project or a thesis-writing senior who knows all too well the frequent advisor meetings, sleepless nights and writer’s block associated with the endeavor. You might, however, know a lot less about the Theater and Dance Department equivalent of the honors thesis.
In a society where even the J-Laws of the world are criticized for having bodies that don’t fit preconceived standards of beauty, it can be hard for both women and men to find acceptance with their bodies. While people of all ages experience negative feelings about their bodies, it is a common problem in the college environment, where students engage in a lot of comparison with others. This week, the Student Health Educators are hosting the third annual “My Body is Beautiful Week,” which focuses on the promotion of positive body image.
When it comes to animated television, I have become a bitter skeptic. With the steady decline of “Family Guy” into an echo of its former glory along with the inevitable conclusion of “South Park” looming in the near future, I was beginning to lose hope. As I finished up another particularly unfunny episode of “Robot Chicken” on Adult Swim during Christmas break, a commercial began to play. The image of an older man in a lab coat accompanied by a frightened-looking teenager flashed across my television screen. At first, the skeptic in me rebelled. “What a ridiculous concept!
As usual, the Amherst women’s tennis team will open the season with lofty expectations. Over the last ten years, Coach Jackie Bagwell’s squad has captured eight NESCAC championships, as well as advancing to at least the NCAA semifinals eight times. Bagwell, who is entering her 23rd year at the helm, has compiled a dual meet record of 358-72, and also guided the team to an NCAA championship in 1999. Last year’s team put together an impressive 21-3 record, but fell just short of the NESCAC and NCAA titles, losing to Williams in the NESCAC championship and Emory in the NCAA semifinals.
With their 93-82 victory over Williams on Sunday, March 2 in the NESCAC Championship, the Jeffs triumphantly cut down the nets at LeFrak Gymnasium after earning their third straight NESCAC title and the seventh overall in program history. As a testament to Amherst’s outstanding performance in the NESCAC Tournament and strong overall body of work, the Jeffs were one of two teams, along with Emory University, awarded a first round bye in the NCAA Tournament (also for the third consecutive year), proving that the Jeffs are widely regarded as one of the nation’s top teams.
Thanks to senior Matt Melton’s third place finish in the 400-meters, the Amherst men’s track team took 27th in the field of 37 teams that competed in the NEICAAA Championships. The meet, also known as the All New Englands, included athletes from Div. I, II and III, but Melton’s time of 47.91 seconds was good enough to beat everyone but Rhode Island sophomore Kebba Nasso and Southern Connecticut State senior Logan Sharpe. The time was also the fastest in Div. III this year.
After a very successful regular season, the Amherst women’s hockey team lost their NESCAC quarterfinal match in a heartbreaker against Colby College this past Saturday. Despite outshooting the Mules, the Jeffs fell 3-2 after conceding a goal with 1:18 remaining in the final period. With Amherst seeded second in the NESCAC and Colby seeded seventh, the Jeffs’ loss was not the only upset in the quarterfinal matches this weekend, as top seed and fourth in the nation Middlebury fell to the eighth seed of the tournament, Conn. College.
