Campus activist
After graduating from high school Simmons left the Midwest for the Pioneer Valley, but with him he brought his ability to leave a mark on everything he touches. Simmons as a first year joined the Men's Project, an organization that aspires to change the male culture that encourages violence against "men, women, LBGTQ and other groups." The Men's Project also serves as a confidential support group for men who want to discuss "gender and masculinity issues, including male privilege and heterosexism." Simmons concentrated his efforts in the Coming Clean Project-he believes that anyone that commits sexual assault should be removed from campus, and he tried to find ways to make it easier for victims to talk about.
He and Erik Osbourne '04 founded Re-Think, an on-campus think tank. The purpose of Re-Think was for Amherst students to learn outside of the classroom in an omnibus environment where all topics, political or otherwise, could be freely discussed. After a reconstruction geared towards bringing more interesting speakers to campus, the think tank now sponsors politically based talks. Through Re-Think and the College Democrats, Simmons encouraged his peers to get involved with politics.
"Mike, who was in my Health Economics class, organized a visit by two former members of Congress in which [the class] had the opportunity to discuss possibilities for extending health insurance to 40 million uninsured individuals in the U.S," recalled Professor of Economics Jessica Reyes.
A nose for politics
At the end of his junior year, Simmons was elected president of the AAS by the student body. In his newest capacity as a student leader, Simmons solicited the opinions of the student body and always kept in touch with what his peers were thinking. As president, Simmons also served a year-long term on the Committee on Academic Priorities (CAP). In January, the CAP published the results of its work-a series of recommendations for the future of the College. Simmons made sure that the students' voice was recognized on the Committee, including several forums open to the entire College community.
But the focus of Simmons' work and initiatives as president culminated during the second semester of his term. In the spring, the Amherst College Board of Trustees voted to divest all direct holdings and refrain from future investment in companies that support the genocidal regime in Sudan. Following the escalation of the Darfur conflict, Simmons led a sustained multi-pronged campaign to make sure Amherst College had no direct connection to businesses identified as supporting the Sudanese government. Simmons sees this success as the greatest of his many achievements during his tenure as president. One thing is for sure, as Professor of Political Science and LJST Austin Sarat said, "Mike made a difference at Amherst."
Bettering the world
Simmons believes he will always be in the business of helping others. He says that he feels obligated to produce opportunities for others, and sees politics as a means to those ends. In fact, last summer he interned on the Foreign Relations Committee for Senator Barack Obama. Simmons called it the "best summer of [his] life."
Mike understands that the world of politics is tough to break into. It requires the right timing and the willingness to take on a lot of responsibility. Still, Mike hopes to work with Amherst alumni committed to social justice to enhance his opportunities to assist the less fortunate.
The next phase of Simmons' colorful and meaningful life starts in the nation's capital where he work as a junior policy aide on Capitol Hill. Simmons says he eventually plans to go to law school, and he sees himself working in public interest law within five years. Working with members of Congress this fall will mark the beginning of Mike's journey towards achieving his life's goal of creating greater social justice in the world.