Fifty Things To Do Before You Leave Amherst

Colleges and Universities A-Z Amherst College
1

<p>Hey everyone,
I just watched Paul Rieckhoff’s (Class of 1998) speech entitled “Fifty Things To Do Before You Leave Amherst”. It’s on YouTube - I definitely recommend watching it! I typed up the entire list for all of you…but you should really watch the entire video. Enjoy!</p>

<p>1) See lots of live music. Go to a concert at the Iron Horse.
2) Take a class at UMASS, Holyoke, Hampshire, or Smith.
3) Go to a party at each one too.
4) Eat at Antonio’s pizza.
5) Take a class with Professor Austin D. Sarat and Professor Arkes.
6) Watch the stars from the roof of the Octagon building. (There’s a little railing that you have to climb over. But the view is spectacular.)
7) Learn about Robert Frost. Read his work.
8) Check out the Emily Dickinson museum.
9) Go sledding down Memorial Hill. Try it on a food tray from Valentine Dining Hall.
10) Try to meet some members from the Hurricane Class of ’38.
11) Learn about John F. Kennedy’s speech here.
12) Find out about all of the notable people who went to Amherst.
13) Go to an event at every theme house on campus.
14) Find out where the tunnels are. Try to get in them without getting caught.
15) Learn about how the senior class in 1966 protested the defense attorney McNamara’s speech at graduation during the Vietnam War.
16) Check out a club sport.
17) Do a semester overseas somewhere.
18) Learn the words to the Lord Jeffery Amherst song.
19) Find out which of the five characters of Scooby Doo represents each of the five colleges in the valley.
20) Get to know the people that work here at this college. Not just the professors. But the people who work in Valentine, the people who cut the lawn, the people who clean the floors. They’re the ones who run this campus.
21) Get to know your professors. Visit them during their office hours.
22) Read the names on the War Memorial on the top of Memorial Hill.
23) Check out the radio station.
24) Watch Animal House.
25) Work at Reunion. Be a bartender. The tips are good and the stories are priceless.
26) Find out where the Quabbin Reservoir is and go swimming there with someone you care about.
27) Go watch a sport you’ve never seen live before.
28) Write. Write not just for your professors, but for yourselves, and your grandchildren. Amherst is the place for you to hone your voice.
29) Learn about the first class of women admitted at Amherst.
30) Take an art class.
31) Share Amherst with your family. They are proud of you – let them enjoy it.
32) Take care of each other.
33) Take care of yourself and find an oasis.
34) Write a letter to the editor of the student newspaper about something you’re passionate about.
35) Enjoy the facilities.
36) Kick the UMASS kids’ asses when they come to battle you after the first snowfall.
37) Go to the room that the Prince of Monaco lived in when he visited here. Find out where it was.
38) Check out the bird sanctuary.
39) Get out of the bubble. Keep your perspective. Read the paper. Travel.
40) Get to know some alumni. Reach out to them and be persistent.
41) Check out the James Joyce bathroom.
42) Get used to explaining that you go to Amherst COLLEGE. Not everyone knows about Amherst, but the people who you really want to know about Amherst…they know about Amherst.
43) Learn how to say the name of your new college properly.
44) Give back to Amherst.
45) Beat Williams. Do it because losing to them sucks. Beat them good, beat them always.
46) Get involved. You are the lifeblood of this institution.
47) Make a difference. Make your life one of consequence. You have an obligation to serve. We need you to serve.
48) Enjoy every day. Four years goes by pretty fast. Enjoy every day…even the crappy ones.
49) Be a leader.
50) Bring the light. Terras Irradient.</p>

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<p>Thank you so much for writing this out!</p>

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<p>This is great. I wonder how much of this is no longer relevant. I also am embarrassed to say I googled #43 and realized I was saying it wrong the whole time, but you can barely tell.</p>