When questioned about her plans for the future, Amherst women’s ice hockey player Avery Stone offered, “I want to help other people convey their stories in a way that resonates with people no matter what the subject.”
August
Amherst’s Book & Plow Farm celebrated its first harvest, bringing in hundreds of pounds of kale, watermelon, mustard and bok choi, among many other fruits and vegetables. Farmers Peter McLean and Tobin Porter-Brown opened Book & Plow last year, and have been using the farm’s produce to supply Valentine Dining Hall as well as other customers around Amherst.
What an amazing year it was for the Amherst men’s tennis team, losing just three times in nearly 40 matches and garnering a NESCAC and NCAA title along the way. It’s hard to think the season could have gone any better.
I’ve spent the past three years admiring Kim Bain from a distance. Literally from a distance, as in straining my neck over a frenzied audience to see her dominate a DASAC show or watching her TA from the back of my 80-person English class. She’s kind of a big deal.
Veteran of multiple dance groups, indispensable member of the English Department Steering Committee and winner of this year’s Elizabeth Bruss Prize, Bain is a powerhouse — and that’s just what those of us who admire her from a distance get to see.
One would be hard-pressed to find someone on campus who hasn’t heard Liya Rechtman’s name or a facet of Amherst life that she hasn’t touched. Through her vocal presence as an activist, a journalist and academic, Rechtman is unafraid to challenge norms and is never content to accept what is over what could be. Her passion and dedication to reshaping Amherst culture is unparalleled, and although future classes may not know it, the legacy she leaves behind will be lasting.
Puppetry and SATs
It was a drizzly May morning in Beneski, and Matt DeButts was one of many seniors basking in post-thesis glory, enjoying the brief respite between the due date for his law, jurisprudence and social thought thesis and the onset of finals. But while most seniors might have regaled me with tales of the arduous research process, the intricacies of their argument or the late nights spent in Frost, DeButts did not. In fact, over the course of our hour-long interview, he never once brought up his thesis — which I only later learned is about abandoned spaces in Philadelphia and New Orleans.
Conquering adversity is always a part of life for athletes. The greatest players in sports have an extraordinary ability to motivate themselves, overcome obstacles and capitalize upon every opportunity that comes their way. Div. III National Player of the Year Aaron Toomey, senior point guard on the men’s basketball team, has certainly had to conquer some adversity during his basketball career — he ended up at Amherst after a high school injury left him unable to play Div. I ball. And yet, Toomey never let any injury stop him.
