Amherst Magazine: Spring 2014
FEATURES
Great Fakes
Interview by Alexander George
Jonathon Keats ’94, an artist and author, makes the case that forgeries are the great art of our time.
Your Generation
Amherst has 22,000 living alumni. A new survey reveals who you are and what you think of your alma mater.
The Prince of Bipartisan Politics
By Roger M. Williams ’56
Despite running in a solidly purple area of Virginia, U.S. Rep. Tom Davis ’71 never came close to losing a race for re-election. “I retired,” he says, “undefeated and unindicted.”
Finding Refuge
By Mary Jo Curtis
One Mother’s Day Adrie Kusserow ’88 knocked on a door in Vermont, hoping to meet some of Sudan’s “lost boys.” That knock continues to echo.
DEPARTMENTS
College Row
Serving in Iraq, then going to Amherst—A magnet like no other you’ve seen—Happiness: Do’s and don’ts based on research—And more
Sports
Swimmer: Sarah Conklin ’16 had a lot to prove at nationals
Hockey: Christopher Finch ’14 researched concussions
Beyond Campus
Coding: Runway model Lyndsey Scott ’06 is also a computer programmer
Pediatrics: Urgent care, just for kids
Farming: Helen Whybrow ’90 raises Icelandic sheep
Energy: Can solar power thrive in Somaliland?
Social action: Helping girls navigate the pressures of growing up
Point of View
In Aunt Helen’s class, there was no room for false drama, false conclusions, falseness of any kind
Amherst Creates
Film: Sarah Bird ’87 produced and co-wrote HairBrained
TV: Writers for Parenthood and New Girl
Nonfiction: Christine Bader ’93’s The Evolution of a Corporate Idealist
Poetry: New work by poet-physician Rafael Campo ’87
Music: George Mathew ’91 conducted Shostakovich for the Children of Syria
Remember When
Going to the president’s house was like entering a Currier and Ives print
Now and Then
Covered in Paint
There’s more than one way to ruin your clothes in a painting class. Decades ago, one student’s tool of choice was a paintbrush. This spring students experimented with a more contemporary device, a paintball marker, as they helped Visiting Artist in Residence Markus Wirthmann create a new installation, titled mural.
Archival photo by Hanson Carroll; new photo in Eli Marsh Gallery by Rob Mattson