The Illiberal Demands of the Amherst Uprising

At Amherst, a private liberal arts college in Massachusetts, student activists began a sit-in last Thursday at the campus library, intending “to stand in solidarity with the students in Mizzou, Yale, South Africa and every other institution across the world where black people are marginalized and threatened.” Students gathered “to speak about their experiences with racism at Amherst and beyond,” according to The Amherst Student, and at some point, some participants in the fluid event declared a new movement: “Amherst Uprising.”

President Biddy Martin later remarked that “over the course of several days, a significant number of students have spoken eloquently and movingly about their experiences of racism and prejudice on and off campus.” In her judgment, “the depth and intensity of their pain and exhaustion are evident. That pain is real. Their expressions of loneliness and sense of invisibility are heartrending. No attempt to minimize or trivialize those feelings will be convincing to those of us who have listened.”

She added, “It is good that our students have seized this opportunity to speak, rather than further internalizing the isolation and lack of caring they have described.” I wish we could all hear their stories. If any Amherst students or students at any other college are interested, I’d eagerly publish a roundup of personal stories so that the public could understand what collegians are hearing and experiencing.

Instead, most of the news and commentary written about Amherst Uprising has focused on the group’s 11 demands. They’re what students