Amherst will install gender-inclusive signs for single-occupancy bathrooms across campus, College Council and Facilities reported last week. The council, chaired by Professor of Religion Maria Heim, voted unanimously to approve new signs proposed by students.
The student initiative for new signage began at a Queer Resource Center meeting in January. Queer Resource Center director Angie Tissi, Saren Deardorff ’17 and Johnathan Appel ’16 introduced the idea to the meeting, where people were discussing gender inclusivity at the college.
The Amherst College Office of Institutional Research conducted an enrolled student survey this year which asked students about their academic and social experiences at the college. Along with Amherst College, 30 peer institutions, which are all members of the Consortium on Financing Higher Education, conducted similar surveys. The survey was accessible to students from mid-February to mid-March.
Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates participated in a discussion with Professor of History and American Studies Frank Couvares at Johnson Chapel on Tuesday, April 28. The discussion centered on the United States’ role in foreign affairs, especially in the Middle East, and Gates’ experience working as secretary of defense under the Bush and Obama administrations.
Students in the Green Amherst Project have designed an Amherst College bike share program and are in the process of executing the program on campus. The bike share program, which is to be implemented by spring 2016, will be open to all Amherst students and available across the campus. Green Amherst Project members Alisa Bajramovic ‘18 and Becky Danning ‘16 are the current organizers of the program.
The idea was first conceived by Green Amherst Project members Ben Walker ’16 and Bob Neel ’16.
Senior English major Chris Tamasi recently finished his inventive senior project — a manuscript for a children’s book that touches on the impact of modern technology on childhood imagination. I had the chance to sit down with Tamasi to speak about the notable accomplishment, the process that preceded it and his plans for the future of “Offline.”
“Offline” is a story about a young boy, Kyle, growing up in the 21st century — highlighting his struggle, but really a societal struggle, to find balance between imaginative and technological forms of entertainment.
Last week, Amherst hosted the annual Iron Chef competition in Valentine. I, along with three of my amazingly talented track teammates, had the chance to compete. The competition consisted of six teams of four who had been chosen at random from the many who entered. The competition grants each team one hour to prepare three courses to present to the panel of judges, who then sample and rate each dish. The team with the greatest overall score determines which team wins the grand prize.
As a primary organizer for Amherst’s Spring Concert, I believe this year’s concert was an overall sucess. This year’s Spring Concert had a different setup from years past: two headliners, T-Pain and The Chainsmokers along with an opener, KYLE. The concert sold out, allowing 2,100 Amherst and Five College students to listen to the three performers. The concert began at 6 p.m. on April 25 in LeFrak Gymnasium. While some people were displeased by the early start time, many walked in to watch KYLE perform, with the rest coming in as the concert began.
