Yet how much are we willing to give up in order to ensure that our fair college will remain as such for posterity? How far are the classes of ’10, ’11, ’12 and ’13 willing to go to guarantee that those to follow might experience the same academic excellence that we currently enjoy? What changes can we accept and undergo to ensure the future stability of both ourselves and our alma mater? As a prospective student visiting Amherst, one of the most enticing aspects about the College, I felt, was its ability to support a wide range of student interests, both morally and monetarily. I heard stories from tour guides and hosts about incredible experiences they have had, made possible by both their hard efforts and the College’s resources. As I was recounted memories of summers spent studying interracial relationships in South Africa and winters revising Federal statutes in the Washington D.C.’s District Attorney’s office, I vividly imagined myself in the same contexts, exploring every facet of my interests both at home and abroad. But now, as I start my career at Amherst, I cannot help but wonder, quite often in fact, if I too will be offered these opportunities.
This is why sometimes when I overhear complaints about the removal of cereal at dinnertime or seemingly frivolous matters of the like, I get somewhat upset. Don’t get me wrong, I love nothing more than munching on a large bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch at night, but forego this dietary bliss for a chance to intern or travel without a moment’s hesitation. And I know that most, if not all, of my peers gladly make such a mundane ‘sacrifice’ as well. Yet despite cuts at Val which all of us have had to endure, my concerns remain unabated: the central aspect of my disappointment being the unavailability of intern opportunities during interterm, particularly for freshmen.
Upon visiting the interterm website during my prospective days at Amherst I was extremely excited to see the Center for Community Engagement’s (CCE) Winternship Program displayed on the main screen. The program, which “ provide[s] Amherst College students with the opportunity to work in the nonprofit and government sectors in Washington, DC, New York City and the Pioneer Valley during the weeks of the January Interterm” seemed like an experience which would both enrich me culturally and allow me to get a glimpse into professional life as well. I could not think of a more worthy way to spend my six winter weeks, which is why, when I visited the CCE and the Career Center during my first weeks at Amherst, I was not only upset, but actually distraught that, with budget cuts, the Winternship Program had been slashed.
It is understandable and accepted that in times of need, extravagancies must be forfeited in the stead of more important matters. Yet I do not, in whichever manner I interpret it, see how the removal of the Winternship Program is allowable. In fact, I consider the program, despite the fact that only a select number of students participate in it and although as a freshmen I was not able to partake in it, an integral part of interterm. My worries, and I think they are real and shared equally as strong by others, are that as the years progress, students will have less programs and funding available to them when, in a rapidly developing and increasingly globalized society, the opposite trend should be occurring. As a recently elected and proud Senator of the Class of 2013, I am extremely satisfied to know directly that the numerous clubs present on campus can still exist in large part because of the extensive budget the Senate is appropriated to provide to them. At the same time, my role dictates that I must be wary of expenditures and working ever harder to ensure that the student body is receiving only what the student body wants and deserves, including a high level of available programs and funding. I hope for now, and will work for, that the removal of the Winternship Program is not a harbinger of further cuts.