Editorial: Free Speech is Dying, and Trump is Killing It

The Editorial Board examines the Trump administration’s recent crackdown on free speech in universities nationwide and vows to continue maintaining The Student’s integral role in campus discourse.

Editorial: Doubling Down on Triple Majors

The Editorial Board acknowledges that while some students may triple major for superficial reasons, banning triple majors will deal more harm than good; the Board instead argues for the implementation of academic minors to encourage intellectual exploration.

The Student’s Role in Campus Dialogue

The Editorial Board clarifies its policies for publishing Opinion articles, condemning harassment toward writers and urging for more productive ways to promote dialogue on campus.

Editorial: Embracing Unproductivity — A Culture Shift

The Editorial Board pushes for a cultural shift at Amherst towards framing unproductivity and self-care as an essential part of mental well-being and a way to live more intentionally.

Editorial: Fighting Back Against Political Silence

The Editorial Board argues that the student body should recommit itself to dialogue in the wake of the Trump administration’s flurry of executive orders.

Looking Back at 2024: Highlights of The Student’s Journalism

The Editorial Board highlights key articles and moments in the paper's final issue for 2024.

Editorial: Forging a Path Forward

The Editorial Board reflects on the anxieties surrounding the results of the 2024 presidential election.

Editorial: Beyond the Ballot Box

The Editorial Board takes stock of an anxious campus, suggesting that voters’ emotions should be used to engage in democracy even after Election Day.

Editorial: On the Changes to the Community Living Policy

The Editorial Board argues that the administration should be more transparent in communicating policy changes to students.

Editorial: Concerns on a Post-Affirmative Action Amherst

The Editorial Board discusses its concerns about the future of campus life and culture following the stark drop in Black student enrollment in the class of 2028.

Editorial: On the Rollout of Amherst College Textbooks

The Editorial Board considers the successes and failures of the college’s first year supplying every student with course materials. While future improvements will be necessary, the program may ultimately be beneficial to the college community. 

8 Semesters to Go: 2024 Edition

Inspired by a similar list published in 2008, the Editorial Board would like to offer some upperclassman wisdom — “lists to live by” — for the new freshman class.

Editorial: A Call for Divestment

The Editorial Board expresses support for the recently passed resolution by the Association of Amherst Students and addresses arguments against divestment.

Editorial: Sustaining Activism

The Editorial Board, reflecting on student activism on campus, calls for a movement that centers community, producing a culture of organizing that will sustain its members — and thereby, sustain itself.

Editorial: Rethinking the Test-Optional Policy in Admissions

The Editorial Board calls for the college to again mandate standardized testing in the college admissions process.

Editorial: Rethinking the Budgetary Committee

The Editorial Board hopes that responsibility for funding campus activities can be distributed more evenly between the Budgetary Committee and the administration, and supports efforts towards financial equity within RSOs.

Editorial: Towards a Collective Labor Movement at Amherst

In light of the recent unionization of Smith College’s student dining workers, The Editorial Board urges the Amherst community to organize towards a collective labor movement with the capacity to effect change.

Editorial: On New Theme Communities

The Editorial Board reflects on the particular role theme communities play on Amherst’s campus in light of three new additions for the upcoming school year.

Clarifying Opinion Section Editorial Policy

The Editorial Board clarifies their existing policies for opinion article submissions and encourages community members of diverse viewpoints to seek publication in the paper.

Revamping Dining

Following Joe Flueckiger’s departure, the Editorial Board reflects on what it values most about Val and what changes they hope to see as dining transitions to new leadership.

Grounding Student Discourse

In the wake of widespread misinformation and the mainstream media’s shortcomings in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, the Editorial Board affirms The Student’s commitment to facilitate rigorous, well-informed dialogue as a journalistic publication on and for campus.

An Endemic Problem

Amid the rising Covid cases, The Editorial Board proposes moderate policies that would provide students with resources to protect their health.

After Affirmative Action: Paradox and Opportunity

The Editorial Board advocates for the college to rethink the ways it approaches diversity on campus, post-affirmative action.

To-Go Boxes Can’t Go

While sympathizing with their cost and waste concerns, The Editorial Board argues that the administration should have made a more nuanced decision than simply getting rid of to-go boxes, which enable students to meet their personal dining needs.

ChatGPT: Product Over Process?

Amid the growing popularity of ChatGPT, the Editorial Board calls for the college to make curricular changes in defense of critical, original thought.

Repurposing Space, Preserving Place

The administration has not yet decided how it will repurpose Valentine Dining Hall upon completion of the new student center. The Editorial Board urges students to consider how the wrong choice could create an off-kilter campus.

Defamiliarizing Discourse

The Editorial Board calls for more diverse on-campus speakers and considers how to draw the line between challenging and violent speech, arguing that speaker events must be opportunities to engage in thoughtful discourse rather than internalize uncontested ideas.

A Humanities Haven?

The Editorial Board considers Amherst’s relationship to and role within the current crisis of the humanities.

Fizz Should Go Flat

The Editorial Board emphasizes the dangers of Fizz — a new, anonymous social app — underscoring its questionable policies and the way it detracts from productive discourse on campus.

To Honor the Open Curriculum

While recognizing the importance of an interdisciplinary education, The Editorial Board believes the breadth requirements in the new Latin honors policy will cause more harm than good to Amherst’s academic environment.

The AAS Is Changing for the Better — Will Students?

The Editorial Board calls on students to match the productive changes the AAS is making with democratic enthusiasm, in order to make this spring a fresh start for student government.

Vandalize College Row!

The Editorial Board calls for more displays of student art on campus, arguing that our educational environment should reflect the vivacity of its student life.

Restore the Student Activities Fee

In light of the Association of Amherst Students’ ongoing budget crisis, The Editorial Board argues for a raised student activities fee.

Editorial: Making J-Term Work

The Editorial Board reacts to the college's decision not to hold J-Term this winter by weighing the difficulties posed to staff against the value of winter programming for campus life.

Say Yay to Mountain Day

In light of the cancellation of Farm Fest, The Editorial Board implores that the administration consider implementing a tradition that is longstanding among the college’s closest peers.

Fall in Love With the Pioneer Valley

The Editorial Board offers suggestions on fun fall-themed activities and places to visit in the Pioneer Valley.

The First-year’s Survival Guide

The Editorial Board offers the Class of 2026 advice on how to navigate Amherst.

A Duty to Reproductive Justice

The Editorial Board calls for the college to make a statement on the possible overturn of Roe v. Wade, asserting that abortion rights is an issue of education access and must therefore be considered pertinent to colleges.

In Students We Trust

The Editorial Board questions the Board of Trustees’ authority in the recent campus safety decision, calling for the prioritization of student experience and a more collaborative process for making decisions regarding campus life.

It’s Not Working

The Editorial Board calls for Amherst to end the work-study component of financial aid packages.

A Precedent for Pay

The Editorial Board commends AAS’ decision to pay its members for the potential it creates for increased accessibility across student organizations.

Missing the Mark

The Editorial Board calls for ACPD to not only re-mark their police vehicles, but also initiate greater communication and transparency toward the student body and larger community.

AmherstMaskin’

With an increasing number of colleges ending their mask mandates, the Editorial Board calls for increased community respect for one another whether masks go or not.

Reflecting on Two Years of Covid

The Editorial Board reflects on the two year anniversary of Covid on campus, acknowledging the nostalgia for a pre-pandemic Amherst, but expressing hope about the future of adapting to the pandemic.

To Support Ukrainian Students, Support Ukraine

The Editorial Board urges the college community to support its Ukrainian students by supporting Ukraine itself.

Expanding Equity in Admissions

The Editorial Board calls for a continuing equitable admissions process at Amherst as affirmative action’s existence becomes increasingly threatened.

The Arts Are Instrumental

The Editorial Board calls for a considered and consistent consideration of the arts on campus when it comes to the allocation of extracurricular space.

Preventing Sexual Misconduct

The Editorial Board discusses @amherstshareyourstory and the value of the accounts shared by students, while considering the difficulty, but necessity, of creating change.

Is It Bussin'?

The Editorial Board reflects on Amherst’s campus-wide group chat, considering its powerful potential as well as its negative ramifications.

Burnout: Reigniting the Flame

The Editorial Board addresses student burnout, arguing that collaboration between professors and students may be the best way forward.

Holding Each Other Accountable

The Editorial Board argues that recent party vandalism at the college needs to be met with a dual response — administrative openness and student responsibility.

A Lasting Legacy

The Editorial Board congratulates the college on last week’s decision to end legacy preference in admissions and increase financial aid, recognizing that, while it is not a solution to admissions inequity, it is evidence of an institutional commitment to a more diverse future.

Beyond Acknowledgment

The Editorial Board questions the college’s failure to reckon with the past during Indigenous People’s Day or Bicentennial events. The Board argues that it’s time to take concrete actions to improve life on campus for Indigenous community members.

Commit to Reparations

The Editorial Board responds to recent student concerns that the college is not making visible change in terms of racial justice. It argues that the best way to make concrete change is to make a commitment to reparations.

Double Down on Mental Health

The Editorial Board calls on the college to double its counseling center staff following students' complaints and the recent release of the Needs Assessment Report in the latest Anti-Racism Action Plan Update.

Shaping Sexual Safety

The Editorial Board calls on the student body to actively look out for each other and take the responsibility to create an environment of greater sexual safety and respect, in light of recent safety issues both on campus and at neighboring UMass.

Lessons for the Next President

The Editorial Board reflects on the legacy of outgoing President Biddy Martin and establishes expectations for the presidential search process. The Board calls on the college to include students, faculty and staff in the presidential search committee.

Size Matters

This week, the Editorial Board addresses the issues that over-enrollment imposes on students’ academic experiences and calls for the expansion of resources and infrastructure in preparation for a broader student population.

Pay Staff What They Deserve

This week, the Editorial Board calls for an increase in hourly wages for staff at the college. This call follows a series of Labor Day interviews with staff.

Repeating History

The Editorial Board reflected on the administration's recent decision to tighten Covid rules, and found the exact same problem that caused the outrage when students were asked to leave campus three semesters ago: a failure to communicate compassionately and to consult with the groups most affected.

Disagreement and Discourse

When the Editorial Board met to plan and discuss this week’s editorial, our conversation swerved off track due to concerns over the deep personal significance of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the most significant current event in the news, and questions of how to engage in that discussion while maintaining the level of respectful and constructive dialogue we wanted. Some editors had family in Israel, others wanted to divest from Israel completely, some felt the issue was too emotional to addres

Plan for the Future

As we all look forward to a semester of in-person teaching and learning this fall, the college is facing a challenge in providing housing for all returning students. On May 6, the Office of Student Affairs announced in an email to the student body that they expected more students to come back to campus this fall than a typical semester because most students who elected a leave of absence over the past year have indicated that they intend to return to campus. This means that the college must make

Finding the Silver Lining

As vaccines become more widely available in the United States, normalcy seems to be in sight. We are all ready to leave behind the horror and psychological toll that the pandemic has inflicted on us and embrace a full return [https://www.amherst.edu/amherst-story/president/statements/node/797790] to in-person teaching and learning in Fall 2021. But as we reflected on the drastic changes in our lives in response to the public health crisis of the past year, the Editorial Board realized that there

Abolish ACPD: It’s Time to Try Something New

This week, the Town of Amherst’s Community Safety Working Group has revealed some of the items requested in its proposal for the future of policing in the town, to be decided on in an upcoming May 3 Town Council budget meeting. It proposes [https://www.gazettenet.com/Community-responders-team-sought-in-Amherst-budget-40131259] slashing the $5.15 million Amherst Police Department (APD) budget in order to fund a separate $2.2 million Community Response for Equity, Safety and Service (CRESS) prog

It's Time to Lead, Not Follow

On March 31, Board of Trustees Chair Andrew J. Nussbaum ’85 sent a statement [https://www.amherst.edu/amherst-story/facts/trustees/statements/node/797137] to the college community announcing a new policy to refrain from investment in the fossil fuel industry and, ultimately, phase out all existing fossil fuel investments by 2030. The announcement largely seems to be a response to an open letter [https://amherststudent.com/article/a-letter-to-the-administration-when-will-we-divest] from the Amhe

How Can We Right Past Wrongs?

Last Wednesday, March 10, the Associated Press (AP) published an article [https://apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-massachusetts-c54f6419bf59017ab28956d35981a55e] following the recent push for reparations in the town of Amherst. The article draws heavily on a recent interview with former Sociology Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (UMass) Edwin Driver, the first professor of color [http://scua.library.umass.edu/youmass/doku.php?id=d:driver-edwin-d] hired by the univers

On Promises Left Unfinished

A pandemic, a civil rights movement, an election — amid a series of local, national and global upheavals, last year looked different at The Student. Besides our transition to an entirely digital distribution, we deepened our commitment to holding individuals and institutions accountable in order to build a more just and equitable Amherst. We were reminded of our responsibility of serving a diverse community and taking concrete steps to become a more accessible and inclusive space. We turned inwa