Sixty-five years ago this week, President Stanley King announced that $250,000, including $150,000 in cash, had already been raised for the construction of Amherst's new gymnasium.

The Student explained that this amount was "so large that work is to be started on the gymnasium proper before snow falls."

The plans for the gymnasium had already been drawn up and accepted, and the house that had been located on the site of the proposed gym had been moved during the summer to Hitchcock Road.

The article reported that the upcoming fall and winter would be a time to raise another $100,000 in order to build a swimming pool. The work on the pool would begin soon after the construction of the main building began.

1967

Thirty-three years ago this week, The Student ran an article entitled "Letter Grades Replace Former 100 Point System" about the end of the 10-year system of numerical grading. The article reported that the faculty voted the previous spring to adopt a letter grading system.

In addition to the nine-point system scaled from A to F, the faculty created new methods for reporting cumulative averages, class rank and mid-semester grades.

Dean Prosser Gifford's reasons for the change were "to reduce the number of categories into which a student can be placed, to get away from the fine distinctions ... and set up a single value for failure. There are at present 59 different ways of failing."

The details of how to determine new cumulative averages and class rank were not yet established at that point.

Registrar Robert F. Grose assured students that "the grades earned under the old grading system stand and will not be affected by the new grading system." The transcript of students in the classes of 1968-70 would contain a description of both grading systems, the course grades as given under each system and an explanation of the conversions made.

1990

The College hired Jennifer Tyne as a sexual harassment educator 10 years ago this year. The Student explained that Tyne was hired in response to an growing concern about sexual harassment.

Tyne was hired to act as an educator and to be the Area Coordinator for James, Stearns and Valentine halls. She expressed her desire to make Amherst a safer, more comfortable place for women through increased awareness.

The Student described Tyne's varied experience with organizations for battered women, her role as a resident counselor at Smith and her work with local agencies. Many felt that Tyne's strong feelings against sexual harassment and her involvement in women's issues would be valuable to the College. One student reported her view that Tyne's position was "long overdue."