Local Libraries Facing Funding Cuts After Executive Order

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 14, targeting federal funding to libraries and museums through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Local libraries are feeling the effects of the order, including Forbes Library of Northampton, which lost a $7,500 grant.

Economics Professor Lectures on Lessons from Ethiopia

In the annual Lazerowitz Lecture, Assistant Professor of Economics Mesay Gebresilasse discussed the role agricultural productivity plays in the global economic gap between countries with high and low GDPs.

College Reacts to Department of Education Executive Order

On March 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order beginning the shutdown of the Department of Education, which could impact the college’s funding for faculty research and financial aid processes.

Panel Discusses Effects of Trump Presidency on Amherst Students

An interdisciplinary panel addressed how Trump’s presidency will impact the lives of Amherst students throughout college and after graduation. Speakers focused on the future of the job market, everyday life choices, and individual freedoms.

College Honors MLK with Day of Service Events

Members of the Amherst community gathered last week to volunteer for the college’s MLK Day of Service and Action, an event aimed at celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. and his vision of social justice.

Trump’s Election Sparks Visa Concerns for International Students

Students expressed fears that the new administration could make it harder to obtain the visas that allow them to study and work in the U.S. after graduation, and the college encouraged them to return for the Spring semester before Trump’s inauguration over fears of day-one travel restrictions.

PVTA Announces Free Fares for All Riders, New Amherst-Greenfield Line

Buses were already free for Five College students, but they will be free for all riders between Nov. 1 and June 30, 2025. The Greenfield line will stop in Leverett and Sunderland.

Board of Trustees Town Hall Sees Low Attendance

The Board of Trustees hosted a town hall for students to learn more about its members, functions, and decision-making processes last Thursday. But the meeting, intended to increase student engagement with the board, drew few students.

Poet Ilya Kaminsky Discusses His Relationship to Language and Hearing

Kaminsky, a poet and professor at Princeton, read from a recent collection before a conversation with Professor Ilan Stavans. He talked about writing in his non-native English, the centrality of silence to language, and poetry’s place in the war in Ukraine.

Bayoumi Talks Arab-American Experience In Response To War

Author and Brooklyn College professor Moustafa Bayoumi dissected the impacts of Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian sentiment in wartime. He also emphasized how Arab-Americans are often overlooked within U.S. culture.

The Evergreens: Home and Heart of the Dickinsons

This week, the Emily Dickinson Museum reopened The Evergreens, home to Austin and Sue Dickinson, after an extensive restoration. Chanelle Jaeger ’27 recounts her tour experience and explores the history of the house.

College Hires Part-time Rabbi After Months-Long Search

The hiring of Rabbi Shahar Colt was announced last week, after the college’s Jewish community had been without a leader for more than six months. Colt will begin part-time next semester before moving into a full time role.

Ora Szekely Discusses What We Do and Don’t Know About the Israel and Hamas Conflict

Ora Szekely, associate professor of political science at Clark University, explained the historical context of the Israel and Hamas conflict, and provided an explanation of current events at a talk on Nov. 2.