Grizzly Math
by Katharine Whittemore
Professor Tanya Leise analyzed the internal clocks in “hibernating” bears. Researchers equipped captive bears with monitors (think: big Fitbits) that measured their movement.
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You Thought They Were Extinct?
by Rachael Hanley
Think Again. After 2,046 suggestions and 9,295 votes, Amherst has its first official mascot. The Mammoths were selected from among five finalists by a vote of alumni, students, faculty and staff. The vote, held March 20-31, was ratified by three alumni inspectors of election.
What’s Happening to the Y Chromosome?
by Rachael Hanley
In search of answers, a biology professor turns to a tiny flower. Using a flower fungus as a working model, Hood believes he can offer key insights into how the human genome functions.
Literary Luminaries
At the second annual LitFest, four authors shared sentiments on friendship and history. More than 1,400 bibilophiles gathered in March for the College’s second annual literary festival. It included conversations and book signings in Johnson Chapel with 2016 National Book Award fiction finalists, and a Pulitzer Prize winner.
Major Change
by Katharine Whittemore
The English department ends its comp exam, and replaces it with a student symposium. In talks and robust Q&As, all 41 senior English majors presented their best critical or creative work.
New Life for Stolen Art
by Danielle Amodeo ’13
An artist finds inspiration in the largest unsolved museum heist in U.S. history.
How We Know What We Know
by Rachael Hanley
A question raised in class helps the College preserve its own history. Six students gathered old material from La Causa and found a home for it in the College archives.
Expert Advice: Take Your Time: A Flâneur’s Guide To Paris
by Ronald C. Rosbottom
These are categories of sites that continuously flesh out my memories of a city I’ve visited dozens of times since the 1960s. The French capital has changed, as have many “global cities,” but somehow, and thank goodness, it struggles to remember itself, so that, for those who love it, Paris remains “a moveable feast.”
Probing Politics
by Rachael Hanley, Caroline Hanna, and Katharine Whittemore
Spring semester brought to campus a civil rights leader, two journalists, a political scientist and a former governor.
Q&A with Khary Polk: Understanding Moonlight
Khary Polk, Assistant Professor of Black Studies and Sexuality, Women’s and Gender Studies. who teaches a course on black masculinity, is on sabbatical in Berlin. Via Skype, he offered observations on the 2017 best picture Oscar winner.