Corner of Rt 9 and South Pleasant Street opposite Town Common
When those ubiquitous white tents pop in town center like mushrooms on a moist summer morn you know the last of our institutes of higher education is jettisoning their graduates off to the real world, while sending Amherst into summer mode.
Boltwood Avenue, other side of Town Common
And since this is their 195th such occasion you know I can only be talking about Amherst College, our number one landowner, number one taxpayer, and an entity so enthralled with our little college (before we had any) town, they named themselves after us.
Main quadrangle this morning
Lord Jeffery Inn, Boltwood Avenue
Of course they caved to pressure brought by rebellious students last winter, a movement that is now ABD (All But Dead), and announced they would be changing the name of the Lord Jeff to something that could not trigger a reaction, but they have yet to announce what that name will be.
Maybe someday I'll have to change the name of my blog.
Only in Emilyville.
It's not ABD. It's WON.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the same way UMass student protesters for divestment from fossil fuels "won."
ReplyDeleteThe hypocrisy there is jaw-dropping.
DeleteIt's conservatives on campus who need safe spaces. Vastly outnumbered and bullied by the lefties.
ReplyDeleteI know that the facts are no obstacle any more to Larry's Predetermined Narrative, but here goes:
ReplyDeleteThe faculty and a large majority of the alums, myself included, voted for the change away from Lord Jeff. The students started it, the faculty agreed, the alums then were polled and voted by a majority in favor, and the Trustees finished Lord Jeff off. The change was about one thing: what was a symbol that the entire college community, in its thankfully growing diversity, could unify around? Of course, there were those who disagreed, including many very reasonable people, but they lost the vote. In my opinion, the change was at least 40 years overdue, because very few of us were embracing Jeffrey in my student days in the mid '70's. Try to understand: although the details of the entire brief against Jeff may not have been accurate, there was nothing about him that made him a compelling symbol for the College community. This decision got far more thorough consideration than Chris Columbus got in Town Meeting the other night (where I abstained by not vocalizing on the vote).
The decision was about the College, and its community, not about the Town and its name. Although Town Meeting presumes to tell the College what to do, I do not believe that the reverse is occurring here.
The repetition of a falsehood, over and over, does not make it true.
Rich Morse
"...there was nothing about him that made him a compelling symbol for the College community."
ReplyDelete0h, the benefits of an Amherst College education...
In 1775 & 1778, King George urged Amherst to take command of all British forces in America -- with Amherst refusing both times. Seems the British were fighting a war at the time, attempting to suppress a rebellion and Jeffery Amherst supported the rebels.
The rebels so highly regarded him that when a new parish broke off from Hadley, they decided to name the then-fronteer town in his honor. As did folks in NH and elsewhere.
I can't imagine why....
Ed, this is none of your business. You didn't go to Amherst College. You don't live in Amherst. Quit being a busybody.
ReplyDeleteThe really irritating thing is the constant complaining about Ed and his posts. Just shut up.. Please. I'm begging you.
DeleteMy family has been in Massachusetts since something like 1644, I think that misinformation and/or ignorance very much is my business -- to the extent that knowledge of facts has a prerequisite.
ReplyDeleteNow as to the irony of Amherst despising someone famous for refusing to fight a war he neither considered just nor winnable, well, whatever....
Ed...when did Amherst town get its name an who name it. Then jump ahead 20 years and tell us what this supposed rebel sympathizer was doing during the revolution. Are you sure you are a doctor?
ReplyDeleteAmherst College is named after the Town which is named after th he racist Jeffrey Amherst. So, to right those wrongs we need to rename the Town of Amherst just like replacing C day with Indigenous people's day.
ReplyDeleteTo spend time refuting Ed's constant pompous, mean-spirited, and ignorant statements is to legitimize his bizarre voyeurism.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. You wouldn't live in a town named Hitler would you?
ReplyDeleteBelchertown used to be called Cold Springs. They changed the name. No big deal.
ReplyDeleteI think Cold Springs would have been better.
DeleteThey probably anticipated global warming.
ReplyDeleteLibs. They don't like history because bad things happened there.
ReplyDeleteNorwottuck would be a good name for the town formerly known as Amh****.
ReplyDeleteKeep Amherst. Stop denying history.
ReplyDelete