Last weekend, the department of law, jurisprudence and social thought (LJST) offered a series of classes and discussions for parents and alumni. The event, entitled "Interpreting Legality: How law makes sense of the world," is part of a new program, Amherst Today, sponsored by the Alumni Office. The program allows parents and alumni to experience various academic departments at the College for $175 per person. There are two other Amherst Today weekends planned for next semester.

Thursday, participants had the opportunity to attend classes at the College. Numerous professors welcomed alumni and parents into their classes. "Professors were tremendous in letting alumni and parents attend their classes," said Alumni Secretary and Executive Director of Alumni and Parent Programs Betsy Cannon Smith.

Friday, participants had the choice of joining one of three concurrent discussion sessions. "The [participants] broke into three groups, which provided mini-focus on three aspects of the course," said Assistant Professor of LJST Nasser Hussain.

Participants had to prepare in advance for the discussions. "The [participants] received a packet of readings," Hussain said.

Cannon Smith noted that participants commented on the academic rigor of the program. "I actually had people [tell] me that they worked harder on this weekend than they did for their college courses," she said.

"People raved about the classroom experiences they had," said Cannon Smith.

The Alumni Office has been planning the Amherst Today program for two years. "We had an ad hoc committee [to] look at alumni and parent relationship to the College," said Cannon Smith.

The committee's research revealed that alumni and parents of students wished to observe first-hand the academic side of the College. "Our sense of what we were learning is that alumni and parents wanted a program that brought them back to a college environment," said Cannon Smith. "There was a desire among alumni and parents to re-engage in academic discussion, and to also experience what the college is like in session."

"[The program] is a good idea," said Hussain. "It gives alumni [and parents] a sense of how we work in the classroom. They got to see critical thinking and discussion in action."