Amherst College. Student Council. Records, 1917-1975
General International Standard for Archival Description
Amherst College Archives and Special Collections Amherst, MA
Finding aid encoded in NoteTab Pro. Encoded by Peter A. Nelson. 2010-12-30
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Student Council Records
Creation of Student Council Records
Time of Creation of Student Council Records
Amherst College. Student Council.
Biographical History for: Student Council Records
Historical Note Student government at Amherst College was first instituted under President Julius H. Seelye in the fall of 1880. Seelye wished to put into practice theories he had long held that undergraduates should be presumed mature enough to be responsible for their own behavior and that of their classmates. The "Amherst System," as it was called, placed a large measure of control in the hands of the College Senate, consisting of ten elected representatives from each class. Its primary responsibility was for settling matters of "college order and decorum." This included considering cases of objectionable behavior such as hazing and academic dishonesty. A case in the early 1880s involving a student who had been expelled from Amherst for hazing resulted in a student protest which was eventually referred to the Senate, which voted to reinstate the student. According to Cornelius Patton (AC 1883), this was believed to be "the first case of student self-government in any American college." However, the Amherst System -- always more impressive in theory than in practice -- was suspended in the 1890s; throughout the 20th century student government seems to have gone through waves of enthusiasm and derision. Other functions of the Student Council included overseeing student organizations and sponsoring events. [Source: Fuess, Amherst: The Story of a New England College (Boston: Little, Brown, 1935), 220-222.]
Scope and Contents of the Collection Minutes, financial records, correspondence, reports, and various printed matter documenting the activities of student government at Amherst College, 1917-1975 (with gaps), including budget allocations to student clubs and organizations, election of officers, and administration of the honor system.
Access to Series 4, Sub-Series B is restricted. Permission to examine the restricted materials should be requested from the Head of Archives and Special Collections. Excepting this, there is no restriction on access to the collection for research use. Particularly fragile items may be restricted for preservation purposes.
Requests for permission to publish material from the collection should be directed to the Archives and Special Collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.
Association of Amherst Students. Records, 1987-2008Clubs and Societies CollectionGeneral Files
Processed in June 2010 by Peter A. Nelson and Colleen O'Connor 2011.
Student government -- Sources.
lcsh
series
Series 1: FINANCIAL RECORDS, 1918-1942
Estimates 1918-1935
Final reports 1919-1927
Final reports 1927-1933
Miscellaneous 1918-1942
Time reports 1921-1925
Student employment 1919-1920
Series 2: CORRESPONDENCE, ca. 1919-1939
Correspondence: Incoming 1920s-30s
Correspondence: Outgoing 1920s-30s
Thank you note from Woodrow Wilson's widow 1924
Doshisha University 1919-1925
Relations 1919-1921
Petitions 1928-1929
Series 3: STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS AND ACTIVITIES, 1917-1974 (bulk 1917-1932)
Schedules 1928-1933
Faculty Committee 1928-1929
Results of competitions 1928-1930
Athletic awards 1928-1929
Music awards 1927-1929
Trophies 1917-1926
Rules Committee ca. 1921-1926
The Amherst Student 1919-1974
Baseball 1921-1925
Basketball ca. 1918-1925
Cheer Leading 1921-1922
Conferences 1921-1925
Cross Country 1923-1924
Dances 1921-1929
Dances 1929-1934
Debate 1919-1925
NOTE: because of the Debate record-keeping practices, much of the club's financial information is located in this series instead of Series 1 with the other clubs'.
Debate 1925-1942
Debate 1940s
Football 1917-1932
Freshman Games 1923-1926
Golf 1918-1926
Hockey 1917-1926
Library 1922
National Student Federation of the US 1926
Press Club ca. 1921-1923
Publicity (see also: Press Club) 1920-1925
Rifle Team 1919-1929
Soccer 1918-1925
Swimming 1921-1932
Tennis 1920-1925
Track 1917-1932
"The Fraternity System at Massachusetts State College" n. d.
Series 4: HONOR SYSTEM COMMITTEE, 1917-1928
subseries
Sub-Series A: General
General ca. 1921-1924
Elections 1920
Revised constitution and interpretation 1925
Constitution comments n.d.
General correspondence 1917-1918
General correspondence 1921-1922
General correspondence 1922-1923
General correspondence 1923-1924
General correspondence 1924-1925
General correspondence 1925-1926
General correspondence 1926-1927
Correspondence - Committee of Seven 1921-1927
General business 1921-1923
Meeting of the student body - Discussion of proposed honor system 1922 Jan-Feb
Sub-Series B: Student Trials, 1921-1928
NOTE: Access to this sub-series is RESTRICTED. No access without written permission of the President's Office.
Student trials [RESTRICTED] 1921-1928
Series 5: MINUTES, 1927-1969
Student Council minutes 1927-1949
Student Council minutes and reports 1949-1953
Student Council minutes 1953-1957
Student Council minutes 1967-1969
Collected Papers of the Student Council 1968-1969
Series 6: OTHER STUDENT GOVERNING BODIES, 1916-1975
Student Association 1922, 1938
Student Association - rules and regulation books 1916-1932
Student Assembly 1972-1975