Students come and go, but some things never change. Explore U.S. college culture through the characters and conflicts of Western Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley — straight from UMass student journalists.
Matt McCall’s tenure as the University of Massachusetts men’s basketball head coach ended in March 2022. And when McCall departed, UMass Athletic Director Ryan Bamford applied what he’d learned from past hires in hiring former South Carolina coach Frank Martin to lead the team. In this episode of It Happened in Amherst, Joey Aliberti revisits McCall’s five years at UMass to better understand the program’s future.
14 Jun 2022
7. Listening to the Library
Welcome to the W.E.B Du Bois Library, the 26-floor tower in the center of the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus.
Depictions of libraries usually include quiet reading and a shushing librarian, but UMass students ensure that the library is always loud. In this episode of It Happened in Amherst, Emilee Klein takes a ride down the elevator of the W.E.B Du Bois Library, traveling through time in the archives into the future of open access education. Throughout the tour, Klein finds that the symbol of UMass represents more than just the university.
14 Jun 2022
6. Why UMass Protests
Activism thrives at UMass Amherst. As the flagship campus of Massachusetts, UMass Amherst has branded itself “revolutionary,” and its students channel that spirit toward fighting for causes they care about. Student protests at UMass have shaped university policies from the 1960s, when female freshmen had an 8 p.m. curfew, all the way through December 2021, when the Survivor’s Bill of Rights was passed.
In 1969, the U.S. government reinstated the compulsory draft, where young men between the ages of 18 and 26 could be compelled to serve overseas. Many UMass students rose up to fight against U.S. military involvement in Southeast Asia. Student efforts culminated in a nationwide strike of classes in May 1970, which provoked ripples that reached even the highest levels of the federal government.
In this episode of It Happened in Amherst, Izzi D’Amico talks to UMass students past and present for a closer look at how the culture of protest at UMass has developed from 1968 to 2022.
14 Jun 2022
5. Reparative Justice in Amherst
The concept of reparative justice differs depending upon where you look and who you talk to. In Amherst, Massachusetts, reparations involve getting funding into the hands of Black community members to bring repair for slavery and post slavery, anti-Black racism stemming from the town. By 2023, the town plans to be one of the first places in the nation to officially have a system of repair in action.
In this episode, Ella Adams talks to individuals central to the success of Amherst’s push for reparations about how this system will work and what it means for the town to finally be taking this step.
14 Jun 2022
4. When the Pill Arrives
Terminating an unwanted pregnancy, even in the bluest of blue states — Massachusetts, where legislation like the ROE Act promises to secure reproductive rights as they come under fire elsewhere across the nation — can be a tough ordeal. Especially on college campuses, where some student health centers will refer patients to local providers, unable to render abortion services themselves. But not for long.
In January, 2022, UMass Amherst announced its plans to roll out medication abortion, a two-step, self-administered pill, as an extension of existing reproductive healthcare available to its students, faculty, and staff.
In this episode of It Happened in Amherst, Rebeca Pereira covers a tiny pill that could alter the course of pregnant patients’ lives and change the standard of abortion accessibility forever.
14 Jun 2022
3. “Gender Diverse Women’s College”
In 2014, Mount Holyoke College became the second historically women’s college in the U.S. to adopt an official policy accepting applications from trans students. And to this day, its policy is one of the most inclusive of the country's 35 historically women’s colleges.
In this episode of It Happened in Amherst, Olivia Marble shares the stories of three trans students and alums of Mount Holyoke.
14 Jun 2022
2. Housing in the Pioneer Valley
It’s difficult to find a place to live in the Amherst area. It’s hard for college students who aren’t guaranteed housing after freshman year, for non-student residents facing a competitive market, and for first-time homebuyers who are outbid by outside investors.
In this episode of It Happened in Amherst, Catherine Hurley explores the challenge of finding rentals and homes in the Pioneer Valley and breaks down what Amherst City Councilors are doing to address the problem.
14 Jun 2022
1. Talking Tiktok with College Content Creators
With one billion monthly users and a seemingly random algorithm-driven feed, the potential to go viral on TIkTok is high. In this episode of It Happened in Amherst, Sara Abdelouahed explores what it's like for college students to have their videos seen by hundreds of thousands of people on the enormously popular video-sharing app.
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