ma201 Amherst College. Student Council. Records, 1917-1975 Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Peter A. Nelson, Archivist. Amherst College Archives and Special Collections
Amherst, MA
2010 Finding aid encoded in NoteTab Pro. Encoded by Peter A. Nelson. 2010-12-30 Finding aid written in English Collection Overview Amherst College. Student Council. Student Council Records 1917-1975 2 records storage boxes, 1 archives box (2.5 linear ft.) English Amherst College Archives and Special Collections
Amherst, MA
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. 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.

 Organization of the Collection

This collection is organized into six series:

Financial Records, 1918-1942 Correspondence, ca. 1919-1939 Student Organizations and Activities, 1917-1974 (bulk 1917-1932) Honor System Committee, 1917-1928 Minutes, 1927-1969 Other Student Governing Bodies, 1916-1975

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.

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

[Identification of item], in Amherst College Student Council Records [Box #, Folder #], Amherst College Archives and Special Collections, Amherst College Library.

Processed in June 2010 by Peter A. Nelson and Colleen O'Connor 2011.

 Student government -- Sources.

Association of Amherst Students. Records, 1987-2008 Clubs and Societies Collection General Files

Series 1: FINANCIAL RECORDS, 1918-1942 1 1 Estimates 1918-1935 1 2 Final reports 1919-1927 1 3 Final reports 1927-1933 1 4 Miscellaneous 1918-1942 1 5 Time reports 1921-1925 1 6 Student employment 1919-1920 Series 2: CORRESPONDENCE, ca. 1919-1939 1 7 Correspondence: Incoming 1920s-30s 1 8 Correspondence: Outgoing 1920s-30s 1 9 Thank you note from Woodrow Wilson's widow 1924 1 10 Doshisha University 1919-1925 1 11 Relations 1919-1921 1 12 Petitions 1928-1929 Series 3: STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS AND ACTIVITIES, 1917-1974 (bulk 1917-1932) 1 13 Schedules 1928-1933 1 14 Faculty Committee 1928-1929 1 15 Results of competitions 1928-1930 1 16 Athletic awards 1928-1929 1 17 Music awards 1927-1929 1 18 Trophies 1917-1926 1 19 Rules Committee ca. 1921-1926 1 20 The Amherst Student 1919-1974 1 21 Baseball 1921-1925 1 22 Basketball ca. 1918-1925 1 23 Cheer Leading 1921-1922 1 24 Conferences 1921-1925 1 25 Cross Country 1923-1924 1 26 Dances 1921-1929 1 27 Dances 1929-1934 1 28 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'.

 1 29 Debate 1925-1942 1 30 Debate 1940s 1 31 Football 1917-1932 1 32 Freshman Games 1923-1926 1 33 Golf 1918-1926 1 34 Hockey 1917-1926 1 35 Library 1922 1 36 National Student Federation of the US 1926 1 37 Press Club ca. 1921-1923 1 38 Publicity (see also: Press Club) 1920-1925 1 39 Rifle Team 1919-1929 1 40 Soccer 1918-1925 1 41 Swimming 1921-1932 1 42 Tennis 1920-1925 1 43 Track 1917-1932 1 44 "The Fraternity System at Massachusetts State College" n. d. Series 4: HONOR SYSTEM COMMITTEE, 1917-1928 Sub-Series A: General 2 1 General ca. 1921-1924 2 2 Elections 1920 2 3 Revised constitution and interpretation 1925 2 4 Constitution comments n.d. 2 5 General correspondence 1917-1918 2 6 General correspondence 1921-1922 2 7 General correspondence 1922-1923 2 8 General correspondence 1923-1924 2 9 General correspondence 1924-1925 2 10 General correspondence 1925-1926 2 11 General correspondence 1926-1927 2 12 Correspondence - Committee of Seven 1921-1927 2 13 General business 1921-1923 2 14 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.

 3 1-54 Student trials [RESTRICTED] 1921-1928 Series 5: MINUTES, 1927-1969 2 15 Student Council minutes 1927-1949 2 16 Student Council minutes and reports 1949-1953 2 17 Student Council minutes 1953-1957 2 18 Student Council minutes 1967-1969 2 19 Collected Papers of the Student Council 1968-1969 Series 6: OTHER STUDENT GOVERNING BODIES, 1916-1975 2 20 Student Association 1922, 1938 2 21 Student Association - rules and regulation books 1916-1932 2 22 Student Assembly 1972-1975