Alumni elect Alan Bernstein '63 to Board of Trustees. Bernstein is the first trustee to run and win as a write-in candidate since the election of Willie Epps '92 in 1997. Bernstein traveled to Amherst to meet with students, faculty and administrators at the College in preparation for his candidacy.
Newly-renovated North and South Colleges opened for first-year students after being closed the previous year. The dorms are handicap-accessible. Each features common space and a study area on every floor. The first-floor common space also houses a television and a microwave for resident use. Wieland and King Halls also open as new residencies for upperclassmen. The dorms host many common rooms and spacious single rooms.
September
President Anthony Marx spends his first September after his inauguration in October of 2003 working actively. He appoints Professor of English and Black Studies Rhonda Cobham-Sander to fill the new position of special assistant to the president for diversity. She will help address a number of diversity issues on campus. Marx also commissions the Committee on Academic Priorities (CAP) to investigate academic programming at the College.
The College hires Marian Matheson to serve as the new director of institutional research, the first in approximately 30 years. Matheson will provide administrators with long-term institutional information, not just academia-related.
Sherre Harrington starts her term as the librarian of the College. Harrington replaces Will Bridegam, who retired in August.
U.S. News & World Report ranks the College second in its annual rankings of liberal arts colleges. The College was ranked second last year but held the top spot for the prior three consecutive years.
The admissions office begins to address a dearth of self-identifying black applicants who chose to matriculate. Only 21 of 427 in the class of 2008 self-identified, and the admissions committee brainstorms to find ways to increase the yield of black matriculants for the class of 2009.
October
After Marx's extensive efforts to reform the College's curriculum, he faces debate spurred by rumors that he is trying to close the College's open curriculum. Marx hosts an open forum to quell the rumors. "Let me reassure you that I have not yet heard anyone make an argument for a mechanical distribution requirement nor have I heard an argument for a core curriculum," he said.
The College experiments with online message boards to help keep alumni in more frequent contact with each other. The idea comes from a successful message board run by the class of 1952.
The College mourns the loss of Robert "Gramps" Keyes, who died unexpectedly after nearly 30 years of service at the College. Students and staff alike reflect upon his positive impact on everyday life at Amherst.
Associate Professor of Political Science Javier Corrales wins a Fulbright Scholar grant. The grant allowed Corrales to spend four months in Venezuela researching democracy in Latin American countries.
The Amherst College Program Board sponsors a debate between high profile conservative Ann Coulter and The New Republic Peter Beinart. Coulter's presence spurs much debate on campus, in part because of her extreme political views and her willingness to make large generalizations criticizing groups of people, and in part because of her high speaking cost.
The National Bureau of Economic Research publishes a preference ranking of U.S. colleges and universities. Amherst, ranked ninth on the list, is the only liberal arts school ranked in the Bureau's combined list of the top 10 colleges and universities.
In preparation for the November presidential election, Amherst students lose some of their stereotypical apathy. MASSPirg, and the College Democrats, all go door-to-door in the dormitories to register students to vote. There is some controversy over whether students should be registered to vote in their home states or in Massachusetts. This intense political activity continues through the election.
The Boston Red Sox win their first World Series since 1918. Riots erupt at UMass after the Sox come back from a big ALCS deficit and again after their victories over the St. Louis Cardinals.
November
Many students spend election day canvassing in swing states. President George W. Bush is reelected for a second term. Students gather in the Campus Center Frontroom and in common rooms all over the campus to watch the poll returns. After the election, students voice hope that political activism will remain strong on campus.
Students unite to urge the administration to support an Asian/Pacific/American (APA) studies program at the College. Amherst is the only college in the consortium that does not award the Five College APA Certification to its students.
After much faculty debate over whether Marx should be allowed to chair a committee he commissioned for research purposes, the faculty decides to allow Marx to serve as a co-chair to the CAP, overseeing the committee's actions. Some faculty had argued that the CAP could not effectively report to the board of trustees if Marx sat on committee.
The football team defeats the Williams College Ephs, 13-10, in an intense Homecoming matchup. The Jeffs have won their last two home games against the Ephs.
December
The faculty approves amends made by the College Council to the Code of Conduct to include a recommendation of failure for any course in which a student is caught cheating or plagiarizing. While the degree of punishment is still left to the discretion of the professor, the Council hopes that the recommendation will deter future incidents of cheating.
The RIAA notifies the College that it intends to file a lawsuit against an Amherst student. In the early part of the month, College officials expect a subpoena to release the student's identity to the RIAA.
The trustees of the George I. Alden Trust award the College with $150,000 to contribute to the construction of the new geology building. The building will open in the spring of 2006 and will contain geology classrooms and laboratories and the relocated natural history museum.
Professor of Political Science William Taubman receives the Wayne S. Vucinich Book Prize for his biography of Nikita Khrushchev. The organization which sponsors the award is dedicated to expanding knowledge about Russia, Central Eurasia and Eastern and Central Europe.
January
As a result of the Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami, students returning from Interterm embark on a large fundraising effort to send to tsunami victim relief programs.
Administrators revive the tradition of building an outdoor skating rink on the Valentine Quad. The rink receives a great deal of criticism from students and is used so infrequently that the administration decides not to build the rink again next year.
Professor of Spanish Antonio Benitez-Rojo passes away after a brief illness. The College community mourns the loss of an engaging, compassionate professor.
The College Music Department puts on a sellout performance of "La Cage Aux Folles." The musical, which ran for three nights in Buckley Recital Hall, had a long waiting list of people waiting for tickets.
February
The admissions committee accepts 128 students early decision into the class of 2009.
The Pride Alliance distributes 400 free t-shirts reading "gay? fine by me" in the Campus Center. The t-shirt project was in response to a number of anti-gay incidents that occurred at the College during the fall semester. The t-shirts prove to be in high demand, and the Pride Alliance is left with no shirts and a line of students.
After a party in Cohan Dormitory, residents and attendants report that local teens stole two iPods, an undisclosed amount of cash, a set of keys and several coats from a common room. The teens were caught in a vehicle behind the social dorms.
The admissions committee launches a new telementoring program between current students at the College and high school students nationwide. The program is geared to provide high-achieving high school students from low socioeconomic backgrounds whose families do not know much about the application process with information about applying to college and for financial aid. Marx said that those high school students participating in the program were not obligated to apply to the College, but that the admissions committee hopes that the program will help high-achieving students from these lower income areas to learn about possibilities at the College.
Johnnie Odom '00 launches his campaign for an alumni trustee position. He tries to woo younger alumni with his youth and energy. Odom believes that the current board does not have enough age diversity to make decisions in the best interest of current students at the College.
After holding a regularly scheduled meeting on Valentine's Day, the Association of Amherst Students is forced to cancel its meeting due to lack of a quorum. The incident sparks a great deal of discussion over whether senators' priorities lie in the right places and whether senators run for senate for the purposes of padding their resumés.
The College's annual Casino! event raises $3,000 for tsunami relief. Aware of students' ongoing relief fundraising campaigns, the Casino! organizers, per a suggestion by Associate Dean of the Campus Center Sam Haynes, decide to donate the Casino! proceeds to tsunami relief.
March
The student involved in the RIAA suit in December settles for $2,800. The average settlement in RIAA suits was $4,000.The student at the Amherst was particularly lucky-while the College would not help the student find legal counsel or provide monetary help, a local alumnus was eager to represent his fellow Jeff.
After members of the College community are swamped with SPAM e-mail from eBay, amazon.com and a number of banks requesting that they provide the organizations with credit card validation information, one student reports the loss of $1,000 after responding to one such e-mail. Chief of Police John Carter sends a campus-wide e-mail reminding the community not to reply to the e-mails.
In order to investigate additional study abroad destinations for students at the College, the faculty approves the creation of the Ad Hoc Committee on Study Abroad. The faculty charges the committee with finding unusual but intense and interesting programs beyond the perennially common choices of Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
The Amherst Tsunami Relief Campaign hosts Runway, an event modeling garments shipped from countries in Africa and Asia. Models were chosen from the Five College area and some were hired and brought to Massachusetts from New York. The event raises approximately $3,500, contributing to the $20,000 already raised by the Relief Campaign.
?The Juarez Group hosts its second annual Chocolate for a Cause. The event is designed to raise money for the Juarez delegation visiting Mexico to learn more about the serial murders of women in Juarez, Mexico.
Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science Austin Sarat is elected president of the Consortium of Undergraduate Law and Justice Programs.
In order to accommodate its growing programming, the Career Center moves from its office in Converse Hall across route 116 into College Hall. The new Center is spacious and has rooms for practice interviews and workshops, and boasts coffee and cappuccino machines.
April
The board of trustees select Jide Zeitlin '85 to serve as their new chairman. Zeitlin's term will begin July 1. He replaces Amos Hostetter Jr. '58, who has served as chairman since July 1, 1998. "Jide has all the characteristics Amherst might want in its new leader. [He is] smart, patient, wise and a very careful listener," said Hostetter. Zeitlin is looking forward to starting his new position. "I am excited because as I think about where Amherst is today, [and] just how strong Amherst is today, while on the other hand I think about how much is changing in the world around Amherst, it just feels as though it is a real moment in time where being a part of thinking about key issues for the College is going to be exciting," he said.
The College accepts 1,173 students for the class of 2009. Once again, the College has received a record number of applicants, up 14 percent from last year. The average verbal SAT score is 736 and the average math score is 726. The College offered financial aid to over 50 percent of the accepted students.
Dean of Students Ben Lieber announces that during the 2004 calendar year, there were 37 Honor Code violations. The list included 19 incidents of raucous behavior or theft and four cases in which students forged their advisors' signatures for College forms or work-study materials.
President Anthony Marx announces a 5.2 percent comprehensive fee increase. The $2,040 increase brings the comprehensive fee to $40,980. Marx reminds students that the normal fee is approximately $70,000 per student, and that the College subsidizes student fees by approximately 42 percent.
Hadassah Lieberman serves as the keynote speaker at the second annual Holocaust Remembrance Day Program. The program was designed to help prevent future genocides by remembering past incidents like the Holocaust.
As part of its ongoing attempt to increase student and pedestrian safety, the College announces plans to install four new crosswalks on Route 116. The crosswalks will be elevated and will be equipped with LED lights. The new crosswalks will be at the main entrance to the College, in front of College Hall, near the gym, and the crosswalk in front of the President's House will be remodeled to match the three new walkways.
The third annual Relay for Life held at the College raises $64,000 for the American Cancer Society, nearly $20,000 more than the relay raised in 2004. Teams representing all five schools in the Valley participated in the Relay, but a team from Amherst raised the most money of any team.
The College Council announces that it will reevaluate the College's statement on fraternities. The statement was written and accepted by the faculty in 1995 with the understanding that it would be reevaluated every 10 years. The Council states that they might reaffirm the current policy, but that changes are also possible. The reevaluation process prompts commentary in campus publications and mixed student responses.
After a year-long intensive search, the trustees of Hampshire College choose their fifth president. Ralph J. Hexter has administrative experience at the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Colorado at Boulder, Yale University and at the Villa Tatti Harvard Center for Studies in the Italian Renaissance.
May
President Anthony Marx announces that the faculty has chosen to appoint Interim Dean of the Faculty Greg Call as their Dean of the Faculty. The search for a new dean started nearly two years ago, but Call's impressive performance and dedication to the position made him their ideal candidate.