Problems solved. I think a lot about what I'm supporting, Mike. Thats fine. The colleges websiteprovides background information about why each mascot choice is appropriate. It reflects our abiding desire to never accept things as they are, to always push, in ways however small, for a more just world. The controversy is bound up with feelings about matters as specific and recent as the protests at the college last fall and as broad and old as the colleges mission and values. Judging from online commentary, there is strong sentiment in favor of the idea. But he said he is in favor of changing the mascot. [2] Far more meaningful activities are things like the Admissions Office inviting Native Americans to the Diversity Open House and spending extra time with them, in an effort to increase the amount of Native American applications sent to the college. ", addresses alumni support. On Thursday, college officials unveiled the final five mascot choices, selected by the mascot committee, that will be the subject of a vote by students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the college. O'CONNELL: That mascot and that name has always been profoundly offensive. I think of all the past alumni and administrators that worked to make Amherst the great place it is today. This week, the college trustees publicly agreed. You should also consider, however, how retaining a genocidal mascot might just discourage Native American students from applying in the first place, even if we increase recruitment efforts as you suggest. SYDNEY TATE: I feel like the mascot itself and the name does more harm than good for this school. News & Events. Princeton University, for example, decided in November to review how it honors Woodrow Wilson. The highly ranked private school that wants to be known as a leader in 21st-century efforts for campus diversity and inclusion decided that it could do without any links to a historical figure from the 1700s who suggested inwartime correspondence that the deadly smallpox virus could be used against Native Americans. The college said it would find a new name for the inn. FYI, we gave the moose too much tranquilizer and it died later that day. Amherst is one of a handful of institutions at the forefront of an enterprise that is both urgent and overdue: making the finest liberal-arts education available to the kind of diverse population this country actually has, and doing so in a residential setting that functions as a true community. This is very brave of you. I agree, why would the mascot be a deer that happened to come across our campus for a couple hours? It is not the role of the board to hand down a verdict on all these questions. That doesnt invalidate the desire to change the mascot, however. To be clear, Im in no way trying to suggest you support either of these evil men, and Im not trying to create a hierarchy of historical evil or equate different instances of historical violence and hatred. }, AMHERST Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost and other famed artistswholived and worked in towncould representthe athletic program at Amherst College as the fighting poets.. To those who argue that stepping back from Lord Jeff as an unofficial mascot takes us down some sort of slippery slope that calls into question the name of the town or the college, the board would respond that you can find slippery slopes anywhere you look, that real life isnt a philosophy class or court of law, and that people long ago figured out the common-sense way to deal with slippery slopes: Just draw the line. You fail to explain, however, why that makes it ok to use such a figure as a mascot. Amherst College decides to drop controversial Lord Jeff mascot The 28th U.S. president, who also served as Princetons president, was a staunch advocate of racial segregation. This article was published more than7 years ago. This is a fact, but we must take it with the proper perspective. If none get thismajority initially, then the voteswill be dispersed until one achieves a majority. The college has no business interfering with free expression, whether spoken or written or, for that matter, sung. The mascot is a caricature of Lord Jeffery Amherst, an English general who proposed giving blankets from smallpox patients to Native Americans. The Moose sounds more like the mascot of a created team in a video game than a prestigious institution. Community Send message Hi! I am a first generation Amherst student. We owe special gratitude to the women of the 70s, 80s and 90s, who were trailblazers and, as students, held the college to account. . Lord Jeffery Amherst advocated genocide against Native Americans. Daily Hampshire Gazette. If Lord Jeff committed genocide then so has every general in modern history. I disagree pretty seriously with most of what youve said, but I dont feel like your coming from a place of malevolence or hate. Amherst's culture is enriched by different people, you NEED athletics at the division 3 level to balance out the student body at these schools. Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com. Anyway, from all my conversations with high schoolers (back when I was considering Amherst, or was accepted here, or whatever), they all think the Lord Jeff is a lame mascot (frankly, he's unexciting. Who even cares about DIII sports. Yes, the mascot refers to Jeffery Amherst, and no one denies the fact that he treated Native Americans as enemies, which to Amherst is exactly what they were. Lord Jeff as a mascot may be unofficial, but the college, when its own resources are involved, can decide not to employ this reference in its official communications, its messaging, and its symbolism (including in the name of the inn, the only place on the campus where the Lord Jeffery name officially appears). Extra-innings heroics and a record-breaking offensive onslaught: Can Florida and LSU top an epic first two games? It was during Pontiacs Rebellion when Amherst used biological warfare against the Native Americans by way of blankets infected with smallpox. Towns in Ontario, New Hampshire, Nova Scotia, New York, and Virginia are also named for Amherst. if (photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring2) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring3) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring4) > -1) { Most of us are familiar with that general argument. Princeton president and protesters reach agreement. [Princeton president and protesters reach agreement.]. While one undergraduateyesterday told the New York Times that he saw the move asas "a big step in the right direction for our community" considering "we're trying to be one of the most progressive schools in the country,"Donald McNaughton '65 told the paper that he and other alums "think of ourselves as Jeffs, and we always will. Lord Jeffery had no connection with the college and died a generation before its founding. . Its not hard to see how deciding to use someone like Lord Jeff as our competitive rallying symbol implies a certain endorsement of his historical actions. Were trying to be one of the most progressive schools in the country. They have roots in what former president John William Ward always called this place.. BROWN: Removal of the mascot was a key demand in a three-day student sit-in for better diversity policies last fall. Lord Jeff was never Amhersts official mascot. Among the students' demands was the removal of. You are being racist. Most residents of Amherst actually wanted the town named for Norwuttuck, a Native American tribe who resided here. The institution was named after the town, which in turn had been named after Jeffery, Lord Amherst . YAAAAAASSSSSS to all of this, I'm glad to see a respectful, informative response to an article I very much disagree with. Those who dislike the symbolism of Lord Jeff have various reasons for their view, but a central one has always been his suggestion, in wartime correspondence, that smallpox be used against Native Americans. We hope and anticipate that understanding and respect will run in all directions. At the risk of sensationalizing my comment, I'm asking you to consider a school that, in 150 yrs, makes its mascot Hitler (for whatever reason, maybe the school has some ties with Germany). Some Amherst Students Resist Decision to Remove Murderer of Native We are called Amherst College because of Jeffery Amherst. While it is not perfect, it broaches a topic that many avoid for risk of slipping and sounding offensive. The student . Lord Jeff didn't found the school, he founded the town---there's not actually a reason for Amherst to have him as a mascot (he was in no way a benefactor the school). Lord Jeffery Inn, pictured above, will be renamed following Amherst College's decision to part with the unofficial mascot and his racially oppressive legacy. No one is suggesting otherwise. If none get this majority initially, then the votes will be dispersed until one achieves a majority. Lord Jeff, Amherst College's unofficial mascot, tarnished by his dealings with Native Americans more than 200 years ago, has become the latest casualty of the protest movement against. White Mules--Colby The college will ask a joint group made up primarily of alumni and students to create and oversee a process that will consider a variety of mascot ideas and whether the college should officially adopt one. Explaining the Mascot Debate | The Amherst Student Context is important. Your anonymity is quite brave! Sadly, but accurately, he picked the purple cow. All rights reserved. Be brave. Changing it wont make your friends disappear or the knowledge you gained here evaporate. 2023 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Amherst College, the perennially top-ranked liberal arts college in Massachusetts, announced this week that its longtime unofficial mascot, Lord Jeffery Amherst. After sending Lord Jeff packing, Amherst College picks mammoth as mascot The students pushing this change are not the ones who would walk out onto the court, field, or pitch with MOOSE in big letters across their chest. <p>ESPN Gameday covered the Amherst Williams game this year and when Lee Corso made his pick he had a purple cow head and a Lord Jeff head (sort of a big paper mache George Washington looking head). The Fighting Poets doesnt signify any specific artist, even though Dickinson lived in Amherst and Frost taught at the college. Polar bears, the most carnivorous member of the bear family, have hunted down and murdered seals for roughly 100,000 years. An earlier version of the above correction referred incorrectly to the origin of Amherst Colleges name. Almost all students (85 percent) and faculty, and more than half of the 6,000 alumni who voted in a recent ballot (52 percent), have an unfavorable view of Lord Jeff as a college symbol. The selection board said people who suggested mammoths noted they are "impressive," "stupendous and monumental," and "near mythic.". Or maybe the college will stick with the name recently applied to its athletics program: The Purple & White.. Lord Jeff had been embraced unofficially as a mascot by Amherst students roughly a century ago, he said, and that tradition aroused strong feelings. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. As for an official mascot: Should Amherst adopt one at long last? tag_id.innerHTML = ' Buy this Image'; This is a fact, but we must take it with the proper perspective. Ok but Mike, are you Native American? Moose are not even native to the region Squirrels are here most of the time, why not just be the Amherst Squirrels? . Mammoths has a college connection, with the Beneski Museum of Natural History displaying the skeleton of a Proboscidea, unearthed by Professor Frederick Brewster Loomis and brought to town in 1925. Now we are at 2016. I think of all the past alumni and administrators that worked to make Amherst the great place it is today. The Amherst Student ArchiveAmherst College. A colonial governor overruled them. Prince Christian Turns Down Royal Allowance. ", Amend AAS Constitution to Fight Discrimination, Men's Basketball Defeats Emerson, Suffers First Loss to Brandeis, Women's Hockey Finishes 0-1-1 on the Weekend, Redmayne and Jones Triumph in Theory of Everything Roles, Women's Basketball Continues Undefeated Start, Now Stands at 6-0, Student Activism Should Not Be a Passing Trend, Rejuvenated Mens Hockey Bursts into NESCAC Lead. Many students, faculty and alumni objected to the long-used mascot because of historical evidence that Lord Jeffery Amherst advocated employing germ warfare to wipe out American Indian tribes. Itsalso possible the next mascot for the college will be represented not by pugilistic imagery or writers, but rather by animals that inhabit the regions woods and skies, such as wolves or Valley hawks. Perhapsan extinct species that once roamed the Earth, like the mammoth, whose skeleton is on display in a campus museum. Ill come back to the mascot shortly, but the larger issues deserve some recognition first. Amherst College changed their mascot from the Lord Jeffs (short for Lord Jeffrey Amherst) to the Mammoths. I had never heard of Amherst before my brother enrolled at Williams when I was in the eighth grade. He references a recent survey that found that 85 percent of students and 52 percent of the 6,000 alumni who voted have an unfavorable view of Lord Jeff as the college symbol. Isnt removing someone who used biological weapons against Native Americans a meaningful strategy for making Native Americans feel more welcome here? January 29, 2016 at 4:53 PM On Tuesday, the Massachusetts-based Amherst College board of trustees decided to eliminate the use of their college's unofficial mascot, Lord Jeffrey Amherst,. Amherst College Mascot | Frequently Asked Questions | Amherst College BROWN: English professor Barry O'Connell took part in a unanimous faculty vote in November to abandon the mascot. . Polar Bears--Bowdoin The college, founded in 1821, is in a cluster of prestigious public and private schools in Massachusetts around Interstate 91 and the Connecticut River Valley that includes the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Certain basic facts are broadly familiar. Aftersoliciting the input of 441 student and alumni delegates, officials revealed the 30 semi-finalists in January. . We can change the mascot and bring more Native American students to DIVOH. AMHERST, Mass. Panthers--Middlebury Lord Jeffery Amherst, the colonial-era military commander who gave this town its name, will no longer represent the prestigious liberal arts college here.
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