When it comes to fighting climate change, we often deny ourselves the ability to make the changes that are in our power to make. This week at COP21, the international conference on climate change being held in Paris, world leaders will undoubtedly produce a plan that is insufficient to prevent the catastrophic events that we know will result if we continue to burn fossil fuels at anything close to our current rate.
When I first accepted this job, Amherst was reeling from a months-long election scandal and would soon erupt with controversy over a ban on fraternities. I was a soon-to-be sophomore with no idea what I was getting into. All I knew was that this newspaper was basically consuming my entire life already, so I might as well make it official.
The Amherst College Black Student Union held its annual Kwanzaa celebration last Friday night. The other members of the BSU executive board and I hosted an empowering night of community reflection and togetherness in the Octagon. We began by acknowledging the transformative work of members of our community through an award ceremony followed by a catered dinner.
After years of debate, the issue of Amherst’s unofficial mascot, the Lord Jeff, has finally come before the board of trustees. At its meeting this January, the board of trustees will finally discuss the question of whether Lord Jeffery Amherst should represent this college as our mascot. The Amherst Student urges the board of trustees to publicly condemn the Lord Jeff as an outdated symbol of colonial imperialism and violence that in no way represents our college or our values as a community.
