Visible Symbols

 Crocker Farm Elementary School, Monday morning

So for the first time in memory, I was actually happy not to see an overt police presence, even though that was the expectation.  Not that uniformed officers make school children or their parents nervous.

At least, normally, not in Amherst.

But these times are far from normal.  The shock waves from Friday's mass murder are still profoundly in the present, like the dark gloomy weather that delayed by two hours the opening of the Amherst schools this morning.

A police department is, by nature, reactionary.  You see something wrong, call 911, and they come quickly.  But they can't possibly stand guard, at all our schools, during all their hours of operation.   For that we would need to mobilize the National Guard.

And is that the message we want to send to our kids:  Our schools can only be safe when patrolled by armed guards?

Amherst has come a long way in implementing strong security protocols, a byproduct of Jere Hochman's tenure circa 2003-2008.  Before that, the doors remained open during school hours.  In spite of what happened at Columbine in 1999.

But then again, when I grew up in Amherst a generation ago, my mother never felt the need to lock the front door at night.

Our flag is at half staff today to honor and remember those innocent lives lost ... but will soon return to its routine position atop the staff.  Friday however -- like 9/11 -- was a morning to never forget.

Do Over?

 Scott Brown could put his left over campaign paraphernalia to good use

President Obama may has just given the GOP an early Christmas present if reports coming out in reliable mainstream media are true, that Massachusetts Senator John Kerry will become the next Secretary of State. 

Yes, Governor Patrick could stack the deck somewhat by appointing a real contender to occupy Kerry's senate seat rather than just a warm body term-limited to the day of the special election, as was done when Senator Kennedy died.

And look how well that turned out for the democratic party.

When it comes to special elections, Scott Brown has already accomplished the unthinkable -- snatching the throne occupied by a political deity for almost fifty years. 

Obviously in his recent farewell address, Scott Brown all but announced a return to the campaign trail:  "Depending on what happens, and where we go, all of us, we may obviously meet again."

A lot sooner than most democrats expected, obviously.

The horror ... the horror ...

Last week when the first dispatch went out over the airwaves saying a child was hit by a school bus at an Amherst elementary school, my mind instantly flashed back to the horror of three years ago where a 2-year-old child broke free from his mother at a bus stop and ended up under the wheels of moving bus.

One of my daughters at the time was the same age as the child killed in that horrific accident.

Yes, it's human nature to always initially fear the worst: You hear about an earthquake in a foreign county where friends or family are vacationing, and instantly assume they have been impacted. Last week I titled that post "A Parent's Worst Nightmare," because nothing can be worse than losing a child. Nothing.

So I'm at a loss to now come up with a headline that captures the bottomless horror of an incident that erases the lives of twenty innocent children, all of them the same age as my youngest.

As CNN anchor Aaron Brown watched the second tower collapse live on air on that unforgettable morning he said somberly, "There are no words ...".

Once again, as our entire nation mourns, there are no words.

The Power Of Symbols

 Amherst Town Common: A Menorah, Merry Maples, Town Hall, Oh My

When I was growing up in Amherst in the shadow of a smaller, quieter UMass, we townies had a minimum cut off for folks who transplanted here -- mostly because of the University -- as to how long it required before they could call themselves a  "local":  roughly 20-25 years. 

And of course the very first thing they needed to learn was not to pronounce the h in Amherst. 

So only you "locals" would remember off the top of your head the reason why the Am'erst Merry Maple is not called a Christmas Tree.  And why there's now a Menorah on the town common alongside those "holiday" trees.

In November, 1990 the Jones Library Board of Trustees voted 4-1 (Arthur Quinton being the lone opposition) to ban "religious displays" at the library, including a small five foot tall Christmas tree that traditionally adorned the Children's Room.

The reaction was instantaneous and largely negative:  A tidal wave of Letters to the Editor and columns in the Amherst Bulletin (back when it had influence), public meetings, and even vandalism to the Menorah.

Because the Jones Library is a building governed by a Board of Trustees, they were well within their rights to implement the ban, even though it was excoriated by critics town wide.

Amherst cannot prevent a private group, like the Chabad House, from erecting a religious symbol on the town common; but the town itself, because of the separation of church and state, cannot put up a manger scene, or Menorah.

Even in the Jewish community opinion was sharply divided:   Jewish Community of Amherst stated public space (the Jones Library or Town Common) should not display any religious symbols, and the more liberal Chabad House invoked the "Constitution allows religious freedom" argument for the Menorah, and also agreed the Christmas Tree in the library was fine. 

So the simple answer today is: a private group, Chabad House, continues to make the effort to display a Menorah on the town common; but no private group has come forward to display a Christmas Tree.  Since the Merry Maple display is private, erected by the Chamber of Commerce and most recently assisted by the Business Improvement District, they can call it anything they want, including, gasp, a Christmas tree.

The original sentiment behind banning the blatantly Christian symbol so revered this time of year was of course not to offend ... anyone.

Although in so doing, the Jones Library Trustees managed to offend almost everyone. 

Taking No Chances

 Lt. Ron Young (center) APD head of Detectives questions young man (seated) in custody

Sad update (Friday afternoon):  Amherst School Superintendent Maria Geryk's statement on today's tragedy

Gov Patrick has ordered flags lowered to half-staff until 12/18/12 as a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated in Newtown.

 

#####

When a PVTA bus rider called 911 around 2:20 Thursday afternoon to report a man perched on a high roof of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity with a gun, in the very heart of UMass/Amherst, police took no chances, descending on the scene in force along with UMPD.

An arrest was quickly made and the young man transported to Amherst Police Department headquarters.  According to Captain Jennifer Gundersen, the gun was a BB gun.

William C. Lewis, of 4760 Doylestown, Penn., was charged with disorderly conduct and possession of a weapon while committing a breach of peace.

A Stand Up Act

 College Inn Apartments, East Amherst

Since I have never said anything nice about this major absentee landlord, and property manager to other less than sterling Party House owners, I guess that makes the following tip of the hat a man bites dog story:

Eagle Crest Management, owner/manager of College Street Inn, tipped the Amherst Police Department that domestic violence was taking place in one of their apartment units.  Back in October Police arrested Timmy Shawn McGough, 10 Belchertown Rd #1, Amherst, MA, age 40 on charges of Asault and Assault-and-Battery 2nd offense.

And yes, that is two times too many.

Expensive Losses

UMass McGuirk Stadium (pre-expansion)

Hard to say if the initial 12 game football season that resulted in 11 losses made a major difference in the whopping financial losses this year for UMass football, but it certainly did not help.

At $8 million dollars in red ink (at least it's somewhat in the spirit of the holiday season) that comes out to $727,000 in losses per loss.  That a lot of loss.  Not to mention the hit Amherst businesses have taken ("intangible costs") now that "home" games are 100 miles away.

Earlier this evening the UMass Faculty Senate barely beat back a challenge from members wishing to vote on an motion to have the flagship University football program withdraw from the Mid-American Conference (MAC).  The motion required two-thirds support just to get to the point of being allowed on the floor for a discussion and vote, but failed.

Only narrowly, however, as it received 60% support.

While the Athletic Department only wants to acknowledge $715,068 in losses due to lousy attendance, the watchdog Ad Hoc committee casts a wider net, bringing up all the hidden costs.  Advertising alone was another $700,000 -- all of it paid for by External Relations using taxpayer money.

Throw in the $2 million for renovations to McGuirk Stadium, and Title 1X mandated gender equity scholarships of $260,105 plus the original FY13 Football budget of $7,160,339 and your grand total comes to just over $10 million spent on BIG time football.  Offset by gate receipts and sponsorships of almost $2 million, leaving a loss of $8,220,461.  On a football team with a 1-11 record.

Or ... many, many scholarships for a bevy of deserving students -- the serious ones who keep partying to a minimum.

The Boston Globe reports