Members of the Amherst town community met at local cafe and deli The Black Sheep on Monday, Mar. 6 to discuss the current political climate and ways in which Amherst residents can take action on their concerns. The event, funded and organized by The Black Sheep, was free and open to people in the Pioneer Valley.
English author Zadie Smith spoke at the college on Friday, March 3. The event began with a reading by Smith of a section of her latest book “Swing Time,” followed by a conversation with Jen Acker ’00, a Q&A session and a book signing.
The Amherst Political Union (APU) hosted Andrew Kuchins ’81 for a lecture entitled “Fantasy and Reality: The Trump Administration and U.S./Russian Relations” on Tuesday, March 7. Kuchins, who majored in Russian, is a senior associate for the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.
Amherst Follows T-shirts are a subtle and wry comment on athletic culture at Amherst that also suggest how empty slogans are. You could go as far as to say it’s satirical pop art. Deemed offensive by some athletes and sported by others, you could say they’ve trumped the “Spring Carnival” shirts and started a miniature movement — making students from all walks of life reflect, with humor, on the contradictions of programs here at Amherst. This week, A&L is talking to the creators of Amherst Follows, Aditi Krishnamurthy ’18 and Megan Do ’18.
The Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Office of Student Affairs held a “Community Conversation” event in the Powerhouse to discuss transgender issues that have recently affected both the nation and the college community on Wednesday, March 1.
The event resulted in a college-wide email from Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Norm Jones on Monday, March 6 to affirm the college’s renewed and urgent commitment to transgender and gender nonconforming students.
In many ways, “Logan” is the fulfillment of a promise that was made in the very first X-Men movie. Under the banner of an R rating, we’re finally able to see the drunk, savage and foul-mouthed yet incredibly sympathetic Wolverine of whom we’ve seen glimpses all these years. In this grounded, bloody, grim and heartbreaking movie, Hugh Jackman is finally able to deliver the culmination of a character arc that has stretched across seventeen years and nine movies.
Rapper Reminisce Mackie, also known as Remy Ma, set the rap industry on fire last week when she released her seven-minute diss track “ShETHER.” The song is a detailed dissection of pop culture and rap icon Nicki Minaj, and has left many fans on both sides of the debate wondering if Nicki can recover. The song plays of Nas’ infamous 2001 diss track “Ether,” which was aimed at Jay-Z, using the same beat, hook, and intro. The opening of the song features a recording of Nicki Minaj telling the world to “free Remy,” who only recently was released from prison after six years.
