Most Amherst students also know about the other side to "Lord Jeff's" legacy-the far more sinister side, the one that proposed to use biological weapons in the form of smallpox-infected blankets to infect and kill French allied Native Americans.
In his "Atlas of the North American Indian," Carl Waldman asserts, "Lord Jeffery Amherst, the British commander-in-chief for America, believed ... that the best way to control Indians was through a system of strict regulations and punishment when necessary, not 'bribery,' as he called the granting of provisions."
Amherst used genocide as his military strategy of choice. Yes, this is the hero after whom our quaintly wonderful town is named, the hero who lends his name to our "fairest" College and the state's largest public institution of higher education (UMass).
The College asserts on its website that it does not condone Amherst's actions and is in fact not the namesake of our beloved institution. In fact, the College is named after the Town of Amherst, whose citizens, in 1821, contributed funds for the construction of the College and provided much of the labor. The College's name I understand; Amherst College was founded sixty-two years after the incorporation of the town and in many ways was a tribute to its historical didactic legacy.
The problem I have is not with the name of the College; the College's name is not a tribute to this brutal and racist man. The problem is with our mascot. As a sports editor, it has always bothered me when we refer to our Amherst athletic teams as "the Lord Jeffs." Not only does the nickname leave more to be desired as a means of identifying our school as a menacing athletic opponent, it also pays homage to a man whom I can only describe as abominable.
Like most Amherst students I went to the Amherst-Williams football game last year, which I'm happy to report we won for the first time in nine years. Running around everywhere was our school's mascot, a hypercaffeinated, wannabe George Washington. Dressed in his traditional colonial uniform, Lord Jeff had everything down to the white, curly wig.
If the name of the College is not a tribute to Lord Jeffery Amherst, I do not see how our mascot can be anything but. Our nickname follows from the general's title, and our mascot bears a striking resemblance to the man. When did Lord Jeffery Amherst become a symbol of unity and determination? When did Lord Jeffery Amherst become Santa Claus?
Like the African-Americans in Georgia and South Carolina who felt alienated because of the historical prejudice associated with each state's respective confederate flags, our mascot can provide the same feelings of disillusionment for Native American students. In a worst case scenario, valuable Native American students may refuse to come to Amherst just because of our mascot's name. It is time for Amherst to send a message that this college is not the bastion of WASP-dom it is sometimes thought to be, and time for us to change the name and identity of our mascot.
A name change won't diminish the morale of our athletes. Most of our athletes came here for Amherst as a whole and not just for the tradition of our athletics, although that is important as well. The rivalry between Williams and Amherst won't change just because we are no longer the Lord Jeffs-our NESCAC association will make sure of that. It is time for the College to realize that our mascot heralds an outdated tradition that is treacherous.
As much as I like reading the Game of the Week, I can do without reading "Go Jeffs."