Well, I spent a lot of time grifting, and you know, selling cars for their parts. Actually, I was in Spain, working at an AIDS clinic in Barcelona. I also took some classes at the University and learned to make paella.
Do you know what you'll be doing after graduation?
I'm applying to medical school, and I am planning to do some sort of AIDS-related hospital work until I matriculate. But if things don't work out, it'll be back to grifting. Good old grifting.
Where are you from originally? It is similar to Amherst?
I'm from Texas, which is pretty much dissimilar to everywhere.
Do you have any brothers or sisters?
I have two sisters and a brother. They're all about 1,000 years older than me.
As a child, what was your favorite TV show and why?
Hm, I don't know. It's a toss-up between "Sesame Street" and "Murder, She Wrote." I mean, "Sesame Street" has the Cookie Monster and Elmo, but "Murder, She Wrote" has Angela Lansbury. And nobody on planet Earth solves homicides when only given about 44 minutes to do so better than she does. Except for Mariska Hargitay of "Law & Order: SVU" fame.
What do you think you'll miss the most about the College?
I think I'll miss my friends and playing rugby the most, but who knows? I might get a sentimental hankering for the PVTA come January as well. Oh, and Valentine's scrod. I'll probably miss that one of these days too.
From all the courses you've taken, which has been your favorite?
I think my favorite course at Amherst was American Studies 11: The One and the Many. I took it during my first semester of college with Professor [of History and American Studies N. Gordon] Levin. What we discussed in that class about race relations and America's continually shifting social mores has remained pretty relevant.
Do you have a favorite professor?
My favorite professor is my former advisor, [Assistant Professor of Religion] Maria Heim. She's currently on leave, and I miss getting to pop in to talk with her during her office hours.
How about a favorite celebrity?
Well, when I was in seventh grade, my favorite was Claire Danes. You know, the whole "My So-Called Life" thing. But now, it's probably Mariah Carey. Anyone who has the gall to pseudo-strip for Carson Daly is someone that I want to meet.
Did you party hard Homecoming weekend?
Homecoming was created for hard partying, and I acted accordingly, as a lady should.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
The key to my college experience has been finding amazing friends, playing an amazing sport, remaining a lady and always stopping, asking and clarifying. All in all, I'd say it's been a pretty good four years.
This Week in Amherst History-October 30, 1972: The College goes coed
Nina Sudhakar, Arts and Living Editor
Twenty-three years ago this week, then-President John Ward made an announcement that would change the face of the College for years to come. To a standing-room-only crowd in Johnson Chapel, Ward announced his decision to recommend to the trustees that the College increase its enrollment to 1,600 undergraduates and become coeducational at the same time.
According to The Amherst Student, Ward believed that "the College should seek as great a diversity as it can, not for the purposes of social justice, but for the enrichment of the give-and-take among students both in the classroom and in the daily life of conversation and talk where so much of the reality of education takes place."
The transition to coeducation would occur by the admittance of women sophomore and junior transfers starting in the fall of 1974. The College would welcome at least 100 women in the first two years. Beginning in 1975, freshmen would be admitted "without discrimination on the basis of sex," as Ward informed the College.
The announcement met quite varied reactions from the students in the audience, ranging from the extreme to the ambivalent, but the president's decision was not the final one. His recommendation would still have to achieve consensus among the board of trustees before women could actually become students. Ward addressed the possibility of a veto by the board: "I don't have the arrogance to think there's no other possible conclusion on this issue. I'm not a child; I'm not going to pick up my marbles and go home if they disagree with me," he told The Student.
However, Ward also noted in the interview that he believed the board's discussions up to that point to be "excellent" and characterized by an open-minded atmosphere. Ward proved himself to be a strong advocate for the issue while also recognizing that a decision this serious could not achieve immediate approval. "This recommendation represents a major change in the life of the College," he told The Student.