Amherst Magazine: Summer 2013
FEATURES
The Fearless Underdog
Interview by Brianda Reyes ’14
During a remarkably hard year for Amherst, Tania Dias ’13 proved to be exactly the leader the student body needed.
The Boardroom Is Not Merrill 131
By Emily Gold Boutilier
Frits van Paasschen ’83 is CEO and president of one of the largest hotel companies in the world. So why would he seek advice from a bunch of college students?
Amherst English: An Appreciation
By Rand Richards Cooper ’80
The English department marked the end of an era this spring with a reception for eight retiring professors. One alumnus reflects on a curriculum that challenged him to be thoughtful.
DEPARTMENTS
College Row
A summer stunt for Niahlah Hope ’15 - Love Letters turn up on bathroom walls - How to be happy after graduation - And more
Sports
Champs: Keri Lambert ’13 is a star runner. Spencer Noon ’13 is the all-time leading scorer for the men’s soccer program.
Beyond Campus
Geology: Andrea Dutton ’95 studies dead coral to predict future sea levels
Civil War: Ronald Bailey ’75 heads the Gettysburg Black History Museum
At Sea: Rev. John Potter ’68 spent a year on a boat
Small Business: Sales are up at the local bookshop owned by Jonah Zimiles ’79
Point of View
No Longer Neutral: In giving a voice to soldiers who’ve been wronged, Joshua Kors ’01E found his own.
Amherst Creates
Fiber Arts: Animal sculptures by Kiyoshi Mino ’01
Fiction: The Gods of Heavenly Punishment, by Jennifer Cody Epstein ’88
Biography: David L. Roll ’62 on Harry Hopkins
Documentary: Amy Ziering ’84 chronicles military sexual assault
Memoir: Brothers Emanuel, by Ezekiel J. Emanuel ’79
Remember When
Before frozen food made him famous, Clarence Birdseye collected plant and animal specimens near Amherst.
Now and Then
In the 1950s a not-angry mob of torch-wielding students came together for a campus bonfire. This June student interns drove tomato stakes into the soil of the “Florida field” (so named for its shape) at Book & Plow Farm, a four-acre operation on college land. The internships allow students to sample the life of an organic farmer (which, if they're lucky, now includes sampling the fruits of this early-summer labor).
Top photo from Amherst College Archives; bottom photo by Rob Mattson