The Association of Amherst Students (AAS) held a town hall with administrators and students on Monday, Feb. 12 to address the Party Policy changes released on Jan. 26 and subsequent student backlash. The town hall took place in the Red Room in Converse Hall and was seated to capacity, with students crowding onto the stairs and standing in the back.
A draft of Amherst’s self-study, the first step in the process of renewing accreditation with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), was sent to members of the college community for feedback on Feb. 9.
The process of reaccreditation began in Feb. 2016 when the Steering Committee on Reaccreditation, which is made up of a variety of administrators, faculty and staff, was first formed, according to Amherst’s reaccreditation website. Over the past two years, data on all aspects of the college have been collected and compiled into a 140-page draft.
Food justice activist and farmer Leah Penniman of Soul Fire Farm spoke on Thursday, Feb. 8 in Stirn Auditorium about the intersection of racial and environmental injustice and the food industry. The event was sponsored by the Office of Environmental Sustainability, the Victor S. Johnson Lectureship fund and the Multicultural Resource Center.
Amherst College’s life sciences departments, after receiving a substantial research grant, plan to select students for participation in an independent research program.
The college received the grant from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, which honors the legacy of the late Dr. Arnold Beckman, a chemist and philanthropist.
12 other colleges around the nation, including Barnard College, Boston College, the College of William and Mary and Texas A&M University, were also selected to receive a portion of the $1.5 million grant.
Dan Langa ’18 is a music major. For his thesis he composed an original score for the film “The Passion of Joan of Arc.” His thesis was performed at the Buckley Recital Hall on Feb. 2. His advisor is Lecturer in Music Ryan Vigil from the University of New Hampshire.
