Australian singer and songwriter Sia owes her success to her decision to play into the peculiar. Her growing collection of songs is created through a manipulation of raw emotion. Like with most performers of the time, a variety of visual art accompanies Sia’s music. The Sia brand includes her boxy platinum blonde hair, a variety of veils that cover her face, and most notably, a series of bizarre music videos. Released in October of 2013 as a part of the “Catching Fire” soundtrack, the track “Elastic Heart” was quick to tug at the heartstrings of listeners.
Although campus was fairly quiet over interterm, the women’s ice hockey team remained loud and on fire during the three-week break. The Jeffs went 5-0-2 over interterm, bringing their season record to 11-1-3. The break moved Amherst up to the top of the NESCAC rankings ahead of opponents Middlebury and Connecticut College. The Jeffs’ impressive run has also caught the attention of national rankings. The last D3hockey.com poll had Amherst ranked at No. 8, while the USCHO.com ranking has the Jeffs at No. 6.
With school back in session, the women’s basketball team got right back on track after suffering its first loss of the season to Tufts, who is currently ranked first in NESCAC standings, over interterm. The Jeffs dug their heels in and bounced back with three NESCAC wins over Bates, Trinity and, most notably, Williams this past Wednesday. The win in Williamstown marks the second for Amherst over their archrival this season and improves Amherst’s record to 16-1 overall.
Amherst men’s and women’s swim and dive both traveled to Williams on Jan. 10. Unfortunately, neither team could pull out a win. The losses drop the men to 4-1 and the women to 3-2 on their seasons.
The men suffered a hard 156-78 loss against their archrivals. Amherst’s lone diver Asher Lichtig ’16 won the 1-meter with a score of 312.67 and earned second place in the 3-meter with a 285.00. Senior captain Connor Sholtis finished first and second for the Jeffs in the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyles respectively.
This year’s NFL Conference Championship weekend was more exciting than most, with a thrilling comeback by the Seahawks and an emphatic blowout by the Patriots. Unfortunately, this weekend will also be remembered by yet another controversy. During the Colts-Patriots game, linebacker D’Qwell Jackson intercepted Tom Brady and handed the ball to his equipment manager. Soon afterwards, officials noticed that the Patriots’ footballs did not seem to be properly inflated and opted to use the Colts’ footballs for the rest of the game.
The men’s ice hockey team has started 2015 on a hot streak, losing one game in the new year. Following two ties after winter break, the Jeffs rattled off three victories in a row before falling to Connecticut College 6-4, but since then they have won their past two games and maintained their momentum.
Updated Jan. 27, 2015 at 11:53 a.m.: According to Chief of Campus Operations Jim Brassord, the college is unlikely to be closed on Wednesday. "The storm is trailing off and is less intense than some of the forecast models predicted," Brassord said.
Amherst College will be closed Tuesday in preparation for a snowstorm expected to bring 1 to 2 feet of snow to the region.
