If you haven’t seen the signs at Val, Frost, or Keefe, then you probably don’t know about this cool thing going on right now called Amherst Reflects. It formally starts on Monday, February 23d with facilitated discussions. Amherst Reflects is a sort of follow-up to the Day of Dialogue at the college at the end of January. If you did not take part in the Day of Dialogue, or you were there and did not get a chance to speak your mind, Amherst Reflects is your chance.
Like the Day of Dialogue, Amherst Reflects joins together students, faculty, and staff in a discussion about issues we all face at Amherst, and in our communities outside the college. Amherst Reflects is also a follow up to the Ask Big Questions campaign of last year. The week of Amherst Reflects is aimed at fostering close relationships between students of different backgrounds, while also allowing students and faculty to get to know one another in a non-academic setting. Amherst Reflects is set up in a set of a dialogues located across the campus, from Monday through Friday of next week. Students are free to attend as many discussions as they please, but are asked to sign up here, https://www.amherst.edu/offices/provost/amherst-reflects/events-and-signup
Personally, I really enjoyed the Day of Dialogue, and it helped me to get to know people on campus I had never come into contact with. If students take it seriously as a resource for improving the community here at Amherst, then it will be successful in strengthening our ties to each other, as well as to the college. I am hopeful that through programs like Amherst Reflects, our community will be stronger and we will begin to understand those who walk a different path than we do.