Campus Affairs

Some great investigative work by Jonathan “Thropedo” Thrope ‘10 in this week’s Student on Amherst’s endowment.  Our endowment has grown 4.6% from June 30, 2007 to June 30, 2008.  It’s a far cry from the obscene 27.8% return we took home last year, but considering the downturn of the economy it’s a good haul.  Of course, this number does not factor in the past three months, which have probably caused the 4.6% to disappear.  And poor Williams - dropping 5% and the sole top spot in the USNews rankings in the space of a few months.  But the real loser here?  Obviously, it’s the University of Pennsylvania (-3.9%).  Don’t they, like, have a business school or something?  Could a monkey on a typewriter have done better?

This isn’t the only endowment-related news that’s surfaced in the past couple weeks.  Greenreportcard.com has published their annual College Sustainability Report Card.  Amherst receives a B+; an improvement from last year (B) and the year before (B-).

Now, I’ve always found these Report Cards a little bit strange.  They attempt to provide a cohesive rating of “sustainability” by taking six measures on the environment and three measures on the endowment.

Sustainability means meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Are these considerations guiding how resources are managed in campus operations and endowment practices? The Report Card is designed to identify colleges and universities that are leading by example on sustainability. The aim is to provide accessible information for schools to learn from each other’s experiences and establish more effective sustainability policies

I think that the Green Report Card fails to convince that these things are really at all related.  Nevertheless, I agree that both the College’s practices involving the environment and the endowment are critical.  I’m happy to accept independent analysis of both.

The big improvement from past years is in endowment policy.  In a post last May, I lamented our “D” rating for endowment transparency and challenged students to stop donating to the College until it improved.  Well, I suppose we should all give the the administrators that made this happen a pat on the back, because now we are getting all “A”s:

The college makes its endowment holdings and proxy voting record available to members of the college community on a password-protected website.

Furthermore:

Students, faculty, and staff serve on Amherst’s Committee on Shareholder Responsibility, which makes proxy voting recommendations to the board.

The endowment is now entirely transparent for members of the College community and we now have a Committee on Shareholder Responsibility.  Wow!

What’s especially surprising is how fast all of this happened.  Normally, colleges and universities operate at 56K when embarking on initiatives like this.  It’s so surprising, it’s suspicious.

Suspicious, you say?  That’s right.  I don’t buy any of this.  There is no password-protected website.  There is no Committee on Shareholder Responsibility.  What a joke.  The Green Report Card got this information wrong.  I don’t know if someone at Amherst misled them, or if they got us confused with Williams, but either way it stinks.

I’m not trying to impeach anyone here.  I believe that either we’re all missing something, or there has been an honest mistake.  I don’t think anyone is intentionally lying.  Regardless, someone has to set the record straight.  And if that means calling up the Green Report Card and telling them to change the grade, then that’s what we’ll do.

You can disagree on the particulars of what our endowment policy should be  - Jack Liebersohn ‘09 and I did in May - but you can’t disagree that we need to be honest about what that policy is.  So if there are any folks in the College community that can set the record straight, let us know.  Otherwise, this is not the last time you’ll be hearing about this.

There’s been a ton of activity on the blogosphere lately about Information Technology Director Peter Schilling’s newly created IT Index, posted at Academic Commons and blogged originally by The Chronicle of Higher Education.  There’s some pretty interesting information; 5 land lines left on campus, 14 desktop computers among the freshman class, more Macs than PCs for the classes of ‘11 and ‘12, etc.

Of course, the Chronicle - I’m going to blame it on them, and not Dr. Schilling - messes some pretty basic stuff up.  Let’s take a closer look:

And if it seems like every freshman on your campus owns a laptop and has a Facebook account, you might not be hallucinating—at least not at Amherst College, where 432 out of 438 freshmen had joined the “Amherst College Class of 2012” Facebook group by the end of August.

It’s obvious that the people writing this article do not have Facebook accounts, or else they would not be fooled by this flawed statistic.  Whereas the Facebook group for the Class of 2010 (my class) was closed to people solely in the Amherst network, the 2012 group was created before pre-frosh had email accounts at Amherst.  Thus, it was created as an open group that anyone could join and so it has stayed since.  A brief glance at the group shows members representing DormNoise.com, Campus Bedding, and some people that probably ended up at Williams.  Hey, even our Film Critic Woody Brown ‘11 is a member.  Creep.  Look, I’m splitting hairs here, but my point stands.  Don’t spew garbage that there are exactly 6 people in the class of 2012 not in the Facebook Group.

What else is suspect in this article?  How about this:

For example, of those 438 freshmen, 93 have registered iPhones or iTouches to the campus network.

Maybe - it’s hard to tell just by the survey, however.  I wouldn’t be surpised if this was the total for the entire campus.  Only Dr. Schilling knows for sure.  But this also seems strange:

In fact, Mr. Schilling says he checks the social-networking site on a regular basis. “Students actually talk a lot about their needs there instead of actually coming to us,” he says.

Pre-frosh activity on Facebook was insane.  But the 1st rule of Pre-frosh groups is that they become ghost groups as soon as students get on campus.  There have been less than 10 posts since orientation, and the majority of those have been spam or advertisements.  So I can’t imagine that Dr. Schilling continues to check it regularly.

Aside from these minor quibbles, however, it is striking to see how wired (rather, wireless) campus is these days.  Moral of the story: I want an iPhone.

UPDATE: Woody points out that Apple’s student promo for new Macbooks is a free iPod Touch.  Way cooler than the stupid Nano I got and promptly sold to my sister.  I retract my doubts about that statistic, but I think it’s still misleading.  It’s not like every fourth first-year is actually buying an iPhone.

9:13 – Raj closes the forum, notes that we can continue to talk about this on the weekend, where “he’ll see [us] out there.”  Thanks, Raj.  We’re all done here.  Thanks to The Indicator, AmhPub, Raj, our panelists, and everyone who helped put this together.  Good night, Amherst.

9:11 — Carter wants the disciplinary referrals to be thought of as opportunities to get students help and ensure that they are successful in the future.  Krull agrees.  Lieber commends us for starting the discussion and is “heartened” by our nuanced understanding of the issue.  Once again, the primary concern is our safety.

9:09 — After a query about raising the drinking age, we’re on to closing statements from the panelists.

9:05 — Kegs v. Punch Bowls v. Solo Cups.  Counting drinks is hard, we note.

8:57 – “The College does not want to hand you your social life on a platter!” - Lieber.  Well, as long as they still hand us our scrod on our Val trays then I’m cool.

8:53 – We’re talking about drinking and sexual harassment.  Krull is an expert on this - that’s one of her main duties at Amherst - and Carter agrees that it’s a major problem.  Is the culture an issue?  Can we change it?  Questions are bouncing around about who and how.

8:46 — Lieber says that the Residential Master Plan tried to even out the social space, but was not intended to cut down on partying.  Actually, Hamilton was intended for partying but they don’t know if students have started partying there.  Lieber wants us to live-blog about it.

8:41 — Question about the common space reduction in the Triangle and its effects on drinking at Amherst.  Lieber doesn’t think it’s a space issue, but acknowledges that parties behind closed doors are much less likely to get broken up.

8:33 – And we’re on to a question and answer session.  We get a few questions about the 21 year old age law and its effect on safety of young people.  By the way, there are about 50 students in attendance.  Krull notes that her generation did not have beer pong.  Biggest laugh of the night so far.

8:25 — Krull is last.  She meets with all students written up for underage violations of alcohol and drug-related law.  Though Dean Hart also has a meeting with these students, she stresses that her sessions are confidential and for the benefit of the students.  She admits the strategy is to balance obeying the law versus dealing with the unavoidable fact that students will break it.  Strive for .05!

8:19 — Carter is discussing the enforcement of under-age drinking at Amherst.  Interestingly, Campus Police can arrest students for drinking underage, but they almost always choose not to.  There is no discretion for kegs on campus; they just take those away.  The issue with kegs is that it’s tough for students to measure their intake, which leads to unsafe situations.

8:13 — Lieber thinks that the Amethyst Initiative is “quixotic,” but agrees that the issue is ongoing and present at every college.  The first concern of Amherst - I expect Carter and Krull to agree wholeheartedly - is the safety of its students.

8:11 – Lieber starts off.  He’s giving a brief history of the 21-year-old drinking age.  Apparently Louisiana was the last state to adopt it.  Lieber notes that the drinking age at colleges is essentially unenforceable, because 21 splits the campus into of-age and under-age.

8:08 — And we’re off!  Sam Grausz ‘09 from AmhPub introduces the event and hands it off Raj Borsellino ‘09E, Vice-President of AAS.  Raj introduces Dean Ben Lieber, Chief of Campus Police John Carter, and Assistant Director of Health Education Gretchen Krull.  We’ll be referring to them by last name from now on.

8:05 — The panelists have taken their seats.  Looks like we’re waiting for the last few stragglers to filter in.

7:59 — People are taking their seats.  We’re live, blogging from the Cole Assembly Room (aka the Red Room) in Converse Hall.  Seating capacity: 133.

As promised, we’ll be live-blogging the big forum tonight.  Consider this thread an open one.  I believe - Sam Grausz can correct me if I’m wrong - that your comments, questions or concerns in this thread may be addressed live at the forum.  Additionally, any posts you write about the forum during or after the event will be featured on AmhPub.  International fame!  Don’t believe me?  Actually, we get over 10% of our traffic from other countries.  So there.

I want to alert everyone about an upcoming event this Thursday, September 25th at 8PM in the Red Room in Converse Hall.  Following President Marx’s recent decision to forgo signing the Amethyst Initiative:

The Indicator and The Amherst Public (that’s us) are sponsoring a student-moderated “Forum on the Amethyst Initiative and the College’s Drinking Policy.”  The forum will open with Dean Ben Lieber, Assistant Director of Health Education Gretchen Krull, and Chief of Campus Police John Carter discussing Amherst’s drinking policy, its enforcement, and statistics regarding Amherst students and drinking.  After these opening comments, students will have the opportunity to engage the three panel members and other students in an open discussion on the issue.  AAS Vice-President Raj Borsellino ‘09E will moderate.

We’ll be live-blogging the event on this very site.  You all can, as well.  Additionally, students will be able to post comments on AmhPub and have their comments read in the forum.  AmhPub will feature any posts made regarding the forum.

This it shaping up to be a really interesting and rewarding event.  And the electronic aspect of the forum makes it the first of its kind at Amherst.  Hope to see all of you there!

Anyone check out the Student editorial last week?  The Executive Board is calling for experimentation with alternative housing:

While there are certainly advantages to the current system of a single dining hall and kitchenless residences, many students would enjoy having the option of experimenting with living more self-sufficiently. Since this type of exploration will be beneficial to adjusting to life outside our little bubble, facilitating it might be a particularly salutary move on Amherst’s part.

Last March, the Student called for the abolition of certain theme houses:

However, we believe the College should abandon those of its practices that promote further self-segregation within the student body and that advance division on campus. Institutions such as ethnically and racially based theme housing reinforce the de facto segregation of portions of campus life without providing cultural experiences for the larger community.

Last year’s piece advocates fewer options in student housing; this week’s asks for more.  But they’re not contradictory, and I think the Student makes good points in both pieces.

With the housing discussion in mind, I took a field trip Thursday evening for dinner at the Zü.  The Zü is located in Humphries House, the former residence of the Theta Xi fraternity.

Humphries House exists as a co-operative environment for community-oriented individuals.  Members work together responsibly to maintain the house, to provide meals, order foods, organize campus and house events collectively.

The first thing one notices when visiting the Zü is how incredibly far away it is.  Sure, I’m coming from Stone, so it’s a bit deceiving.  But it’s far.  Imagine, for a second, that Humphries wasn’t an alternative co-op.  Would anyone live there?  I don’t think so.  It’d be on the bottom of room draw, right after Tyler and before the dumpster outside Val.

Just kidding.  But seriously, the fact that people are lining up to walk halfway to Williams to live in the Zü is a testament to the second thing one notices when visiting the Zü – the unique but overwhelming sense of community.  This community is not formed by choice.  Because they must cook, eat, clean, and socialize together, it is imperative for the residents to also trust one another.

5:30
I arrive at the Zü to assist in preparations for dinner.  While this is not required nor expected for guests, the true Zü experience necessitates this step.  Tonight’s chefs are already hard at work.  Zü residents break into teams of 2 or 3.  They prepare dinner every two weeks and assist in clean-up weekly.  Tonight’s menu is Mexican-themed.  It will also be vegetarian.  I’m handed 3 onions to begin cutting, which reminds me what an ambitious project it must be to cook for 22 hungry students and their guests.

6:00
A few more people have arrived to help out.  Tonight’s dinner is ambitious, so we’re happy to have it.  The conversation is lively but measured because we are approaching the 6:30 dinnertime but running slightly behind schedule.  I notice that in addition to tacos, we’re also preparing guacamole and snickerdoodles.  My eyes, watering from the onions, get a break as I move to mincing garlic.

6:15
Crunch time!  We’re mixing, cooking, flipping, and heating at an increased pace.  The kitchen moves to the rhythm of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti emanating from the stereo in the corner.   Residents are returning to the house from various activities that include dance rehearsal, Ultimate practice, geology labs, or just hanging out upstairs.  The buzz from outside the kitchen is tangible as residents and guests mill around.  Should we heat the tortillas?  The decision is made in the affirmative.

6:30
We are positively running around now trying to finish preparations.  I fill up a pitcher with ice water and help set up the serving table.  The smells are tantalizing.  The buzz has transformed into a low roar.  Residents are not simply making small talk; they have a real interest in finding out about one another’s day.  I take a trip with RC Monty into the basement where they keep food stores.  We grab some chips – the last component for the meal – and head back upstairs.

6:40
Finished at last!  Residents and guests line up to make their own tacos.  They then sit down at one of three tables arranged to best accommodate space as well as discussion.  Lively chatter accompanies the devouring of tacos and guacamole.  I am painfully aware that no one is ever nearly as excited to eat at Val – that is, unless salmon with teriyaki fusion sauce is on the menu.  I bite into my vegetarian taco and am stunned how good it tastes.  I’ll be heading back for seconds in a few minutes.

7:20
Aside from a few stragglers, most people have finished up and bussed their own dishes.  The chefs and their corresponding clean-up team have begun the massive task of washing every cooking utensil involved in the meal.  I am stuffed from my tacos, guacamole, and one too many snickerdoodles.  I help bus a few serving dishes back.  Despite the sense of community that had pervaded the dining room, people have quickly dissipated to begin homework or head back to campus for lectures and club meetings.  Even within the community, residents retain their own space and schedules.

7:30
I say my goodbyes to new and old friends.  My field trip to the Zü has come to an end.  I begin the long and treacherous walk back to Stone.

Zü residents are often criticized for putting themselves in a self-segregating situation.  And I think that for the most part, the residents themselves might agree that their living situation does create a tangible break from the rest of campus.  But I’d like to ask other students at Amherst a few questions.  Do you spend most of your free time with your closest friends?  Do you eat dinner with the people you live with?  Do you tend to socialize primarily with members of your extra-curricular activities?

My guess is that most people on campus would answer yes to one or more of these questions.  In that sense, life at the Zü isn’t so different.  They just have to walk further to do it.  And they make the effort to invite everybody on campus to come over once a month for Full Moon Parties featuring some of the best musical talent in the Pioneer Valley.

Ultimately, when we talk about alternative, theme, and cooperative housing, I think we have to look at how happy residents are to be there.  We want to make Amherst students as comfortable as possible.  Housing should reflect that ideal.  The situation at the Zü hits it on the nose.  While it’s not for everyone, it certainly makes the residents happier than they could otherwise be.  And you can bet that the next time the moon waxes full, I’ll be making the long and arduous trek to the Zü for another taste of real community at Amherst.

I dig it - a much easier interface, with stuff actually where you’d expect it to be.  Thoughts?

Professor Elizabeth Aries of the Psychology Department is about to release a new book entitled Race and Class Matters at an Elite College.  In anticipation, the magazine Inside Higher Ed asked her a few questions.

One interesting tidbit:

Many whites tend to see black students to be self-segregating. When black friends eat together at tables in the dining hall, or hang out together in groups, whites take notice. Yet no one comments on the tables of whites eating together in the dining hall or on whites hanging out together on campus. The students showing the greatest degree of self-segregation are white. White students reported on average that two-thirds of their close friends were white, but only a third of black students’ close friends were black.

I’m not a statistician, but is this really all that suprising?  Black students only comprise roughly 10% of the student body.  On the other hand, white students make up about 62%.  Let’s say every student - white or black - has 10 close friends selected randomly across the student body.  On average, 6 friends would be white and 1 would be black.  So when Professor Aries tell us that white students report on average that two-thirds of their close friends are white, she fails to mention this number’s consistency with the breakdown of the larger student body.  On the other hand, a third is considerably more than 10%.

To be fair, I have not read the book.  I’m certain that Professor Aries explains this important finding with detail to statistical analysis this interview did not allow.

…Tony doesn’t like the proposal to mandate a 5% annual spending of the endowment.

Check it out in the New York Times:

“We have an eight-to-one faculty ratio, we sit in a room and we talk for hours, that’s what we do,” [Marx] said. “It costs us $80,000 a year to educate each student.”

And according to Inside Higher Ed,

much of the discussion was dominated by the presidents of Amherst College and Princeton University, two wealthy institutions.

From the New York Sun:

“We can’t and will not close the English Department or the Biology Department during a downturn,” Mr. Marx said.

UPDATE: You can find the transcript and video here.

Valentine is once again offering the Lunch and Dinner Plan for upperclassmen that desire a little more choice in their dining habits.  It’s a pretty simple plan – instead of access to breakfast, you get $100 of “Bonus Bucks” to be used at Val, Schwemm’s, the Underground Bakery (whatever that is), Catering, or any of the vending machines.  You still get unlimited lunch and dinner.

I routinely hear 3 objections to the Lunch and Dinner Plan:

1. The full meal plan at Amherst is expensive.  $100 pales in comparison to what we pay for all three meals. $100 is not fair compensation for a 33% decrease in meals, especially as it’s not in the form of cash but rather as a food credit.
2. $100 doesn’t go very far at Schwemm’s, the likeliest or most convenient place to use Bonus Bucks.
3. Unlike AC Dollars, Bonus Bucks don’t carry over from semester to semester.

These three criticisms are all valid.  $100 isn’t much at all when compared to the overall cost of the meal plan.  Schwemm’s is overpriced (you’d be much better off getting a foot-long at Subway).  And you’ll inevitably mismanage the Bonus Bucks and either run out too soon or end up with a lot left the last week of school.

But I choose to look at it a different way.  The key thing to remember is that you can use your Bonus Bucks to buy breakfast at Val.  The discounted breakfast price under Bonus Bucks or AC Dollars is $3.  Given that it’s all-you-can-eat, this is actually a very reasonable price.

Counting Finals week – but excluding Thanksgiving – the semester has 13 weeks after Add-Drop, the date when a student opting to join the Lunch and Dinner Plan would lose breakfast.

From here, it’s really a matter of simple arithmetic.

For a student who will go to breakfast 1 time per week, he can use his Bonus Bucks to buy breakfast 13 times, costing him $39 and leaving him with $61 to spend at Schwemm’s.  This student should unambiguously choose the Lunch and Dinner plan.

For a student who will go to breakfast 2 times per week, he can use his Bonus Bucks to buy breakfast 26 times, costing him $78 and leaving him with $22 to spend at Schwemm’s.  This student should unambiguously choose the Lunch and Dinner plan.

For a student who will go to breakfast 2.5 times per week, he can use his Bonus Bucks to buy breakfast 33 times, costing him $99 and leaving him with $1 to spend at Schwemm’s.  This is our classic “wash” scenario – this student is essentially indifferent between the two options.

The student who plans to attend breakfast 3 or more times per week should under no circumstances get on the Lunch and Dinner plan.

Conclusion: if you plan on eating breakfast less than 2.5 times per week, you should elect to join the Lunch and Dinner plan.

…and not the condiment, either.

Yesterday, I took an excursion over to the newly renovated Mayo-Smith.  It’s a beautiful dorm – a clean, well-lighted place, elegant yet comfortable.  Mayo-Smith has a long and storied history.  Built in 1923 as the Chi Psi fraternity lodge, the place has seen a lot throughout the years and was clearly due for a tune-up.

But I’m not happy with it.  And neither should you be.  You’re guessing right – I’m upset over the fact that the dorm no longer contains a ballroom.  I’m more upset over the lack of consultation with the student body.

Let’s go over the facts:

FACT: Mayo-Smith used to have a large ballroom.  It was used frequently for parties, dances, concerts, events, speeches, and meetings.

FACT: Mayo-Smith no longer has a place where a large contingent of students can congregate.

FACT: Students were upset when the renovation was alerted to campus via the investigative work of Student staff writer J. Robinson Mead.

FACT: The Student article came out only after the project had begun, rendering any type of protest useless.

Now, let’s be reasonable.  There are a bunch of large spaces for students to congregate on campus.  And they’re not changing the layout of either Hitchcock or Seelye.  But Mayo’s space was one of the best and we no longer have it.

Whether you have ever been to Mayo for any type of event, I am positive that we can all agree that there are many legitimate reasons why students should have places to congregate in large numbers.

So what did we get in return?  I’ll tell you what – 3 single rooms.  3 people.  For a campus with 1,500 people living on campus, that’s simply not worth it.

I want to briefly address a serious issue – the dilemma of the benefits of renovating a building to be handicapped accessible versus the costs of doing so.  These costs include the direct monetary costs of building and maintaining facilities such as elevators and the sentimental cost of changing a building’s original structure.  I tend to come out on the side of those in support of making buildings handicapped accessible – I think it’s the right thing to do, plus there’s a little thing called the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

But let’s be clear here.  Regardless of whether the Residential Master Plan boasts that

the renovation reconfigured the first floor area to accommodate three rooms that are fully accessible to persons with disabilities

Mayo-Smith is not – and I repeat, not – handicapped accessible.  There’s no elevator.  You have to take the stairs to get almost anywhere.  Putting three rooms on the first floor doesn’t redeem an entire building, even if one does have an internal bathroom – a critical feature that they thankfully included.

So I don’t accept the argument that the removal of the ballroom can be justified on grounds of making the building accessible to persons with disabilities.

Now, college staffers and the contractors they hire are bound to have bad ideas now and then – ideas that are not in the best interest of students.  That’s why we have a Senate that is supposed to have oversight over things like this.  Actually, we even have a committee dedicated to Residential Life – thanks, Rania Arja ’06 (time to update the website, guys).

I’m not trying to criticize the AAS (or even the AAS of 2, 3, and 4 years ago).  But I think they may have missed out on an opportunity to speak up.

What’s done is done.  So why I am writing about this, anyway?

Because sometime in the coming years, the Residential Master Plan calls for the demolition of the social dorms to be replaced with something called “East Campus.”  About 325 students live in the social dorms (excluding Jenkins and Taplin), so that’s a big deal.

And even though I liked Stone so much last year that I decided to come back this year, I’d be the first to acknowledge that the social dorms are a mess.  They should be torn down and replaced.  East Campus must have dorms that are environmentally friendly, handicapped accessible, aesthetically pleasing, and structurally sound – none of which could be said about the current Socials.

And yes, we’re going to need dorms that have ample common space.  We need big, open, multipurpose areas.  As students, we have to make sure that East Campus will be designed and constructed with our best interests in mind.  So talk to your friends on AAS and let them know you care.  Otherwise, we’ll once again just be stuck with whatever gets thrown our way.