Hampshire College

City:  | Amherst, Massachusetts
Type:  | Private
Students:  | 1,400[1]
Faculty:  | 114[1]
Colors:  | Purple, blue, red, maroon, white
Expense/yr:  | $56 million[1]
Endowment:  | $40 million[1]
Website:  | hampshire.edu

Hampshire College is a small private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. The college was established in 1965 with an endowment of $40 million.

## Contents

* 1 Education
* 2 Athletics
* 3 Controversy
* 4 References

## Education[edit]

Hampshire College does not offer specific majors, but rather focuses and areas of study. These focuses are to be combined as desired to complete a somewhat customized education.[2] As a liberal arts college, students are also given classes outside their area of focus.

## Athletics[edit]

As a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) and the Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC), Hampshire College has several competitive intercollegiate programs. These include Men and Women's Basketball, Soccer, and Cross Country. All six teams compete with other colleges at various times.[3]
In addition to the intercollegiate programs, Hampshire College offers several club sorts, including Ultimate Frisbee, Climbers' Coalition, and Equestrian Team. These clubs do not compete outside of the college, but only within.[3]

## Controversy[edit]

After the 2016 presidential election in which Donald Trump was elected, some students began to riot. Among other things, they burned the university's U.S. flag sometime before dawn on Veteran's Day. They claimed that it was a symbol of "racism and hatred" and it should not be displayed. The university promptly replaced the flag, and flew it at half-staff, "...both to acknowledge the grief and pain experienced by so many and to enable the full complexity of voices and experiences to be heard." However, this was seen as disrespectful to the national symbol of mourning, so they soon decided to remove the flag entirely.[4]
The removal of the flag caused even more disturbance, as many saw this as the wrong response, especially in response to the hateful act on Veteran's Day. People soon gathered in protest, including some veterans. As veteran Jerry Maguire told WWLP-TV, "They took down my flag, they have a right to that, I’m here to defend their right to do that but I want them to understand how bad that hurts me." Hundreds joined in protest against this decision, including Springfield's mayor, Domenic Sarno. Sarno pointed out that "For the students here and the president and board of trustees have risen from what the veterans sacrificed, this flag and not to fly the flag on this campus if you were in some other countries around the world it would be handled very, very differently."[5]

## References[edit]

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 https://www.hampshire.edu/discover-hampshire/hampshire-at-a-glance Retrieved November 28, 2016
2. ↑ https://www.hampshire.edu/academics/areas-of-study
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://www.hampshire.edu/opra/athletics Retrieved November 28, 2016
4. ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/11/21/massachusetts-college-stops-flying-american-flag-after-it-becomes-focus-of-dispute-over-trump Retrieved November 28, 2016
5. ↑ https://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/11/28/veterans-protest-at-massachusetts-college-that-removed-us-flags.html Retrieved November 28, 2016