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83-618: In 1987, while both of them were attending classes at Hampshire College in Amherst , Massachusetts , Neil Gust and Elliott Smith met and formed a band, Swimming Jesus. In addition to covers of songs by Ringo Starr and Elvis Costello , the pair performed original songs in clubs in nearby Northampton . The two were prolific: besides Swimming Jesus, Gust and Smith had another pre-Heatmiser college band, featuring "a friend named Dylan and two others", and recorded "stupid and embarrassing" music on rented four-track recorders with "poetry on top", recited by

166-442: A "Southern Californian stoner-photographer guy" friend. Following their graduation from Hampshire College in 1991, Gust and Smith returned to Portland, Oregon . In Portland, Gust and Smith formed Heatmiser with Smith's high school friend Tony Lash, who'd been working at a recording studio and playing drums in local band Nero's Rome. Early versions of Heatmiser included Jason Hornick . In high school, Lash and Smith played together in

249-455: A "post-truth" era. Delayed a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Hampshire celebrated its 50th anniversary over the weekend of October 15–17, 2021, welcoming back to campus almost 900 guests, among them alums, families, community friends, donors, and former presidents and faculty members. Current staff, faculty, and students also participated in the festivities. On March 9, 2023, "in response to

332-534: A Little Prick", released on The Music of Heatmiser , and "Glamourine", a "bass-line with lyrics" that remains unreleased. Peterson did a cover design for the Yellow No. 5 EP that ultimately wasn't used; additionally, he did the cover art for Dead Air . Peterson left the band in August 1994 and was replaced by Sam Coomes, a friend of Smith's. Coomes played on Heatmiser's last album, Mic City Sons , and on tour. Coomes has

415-413: A bakery side-job had given Smith more time to devote to recording, which also shifted his focus away from Heatmiser and toward his own solo music endeavors. Gust recalled: "That was like the state giving [him] a grant because for a year, he didn't work. All he did was record at his girlfriend's house. His process just went 'boom!' It was amazing to watch. It was also intimidating because I was working, we had

498-523: A bit more of a united, focused community with the bands and the people that came to see music then. La Luna, along with a few other places, was the epicenter of that, the place where the large shows happened. We definitely packed our shows, and people were really into it." In 2013, photos taken by Gonson of Heatmiser appeared in the Elliott Smith: The Portland Years photo show and series. Hampshire College Hampshire College

581-417: A founding endowment to rely on for income stability. It has relied substantially on tuition income for operations. As of June 30, 2017, the endowment had risen to $ 48.5 million. In recent years, the school has been on more solid financial footing, though still lacking a sizable endowment. In recent years its financial stability has relied on fundraising efforts led by its seventh president, Jonathan Lash . In

664-433: A fucked-up situation because they said the reason they had signed Heatmiser was that they'd been hoping this [the breakup] would happen-or something to that effect. They said that right in front of Neil and I couldn't believe it." The recording sessions for Mic City Sons also "found the band dissolving. Smith had his solo career to tend. Gust spent time in the house [the band had rented for recording] alone, learning to work

747-537: A majority of them were people I couldn't relate to at all. Why aren't there more people like me coming to our shows? Well, it's because I'm not even playing the kind of music that I really like. Gust stated that touring behind their first album, Dead Air , meant that Heatmiser "had to be this much more muscular, single-minded kind of band than we really felt any of us were interested in being." JJ Gonson, Heatmiser's manager (and later, Smith's girlfriend) recalled her impressions of Heatmiser: The first time I saw Heatmiser

830-491: A merger with another institution, the college received backlash from students and faculty and announced a re-envisioning project to ensure the college remain independent and sustainable. As a result of the controversy, President Miriam Nelson stepped down; Hampshire hired its tenth president, Edward Wingenbach, beginning an effort to revise the curriculum in order to increase interdisciplinarity, collaboration, and access. The idea for Hampshire College originated in 1958 when

913-457: A modest view of his contributions to the album: "There's two levels of playing for me [on Mic City Sons ]," he added, laughing. "Decent and could be better." After Peterson's departure, the band "struggled [on tour] to draw the same crowds they'd built in Portland. They played wherever they could, even a laundromat." Smith discussed Coomes' entry into the band: Sam [Coomes] came in sort of towards

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996-595: A national environmental council and commission. Lash served until 2018 and was followed by the college's seventh president, Miriam Nelson , who began her appointment in July 2018 but resigned in April 2019 after the failure of her plan for Hampshire to merge or partner with another institution. The Hampshire College Archives in the Harold F. Johnson Library has extensively documented the college's history between 1965 and 2005, accessible on

1079-611: A producer. He produced the first two albums by The Dandy Warhols and he helped with the production of Death Cab for Cutie 's first two studio albums ( Something About Airplanes and We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes ). Peterson teaches anthropology at Michigan State University . Smith went on to a successful solo career before his death on October 21, 2003. Neil Gust recalled that the last time that he saw Elliott Smith, in 2002, Smith said he wanted to make another Heatmiser record. The pair recorded just one new song together, "Who's Behind

1162-779: A public records request, the University of Massachusetts Amherst released emails between its chancellor and Hampshire's president discussing a partnership between the two schools, later confirmed by UMass' president. By August, emails were released stating that, UMass was considering the idea but only if Hampshire would be closed entirely and there were massive layoffs of its faculty. Hampshire wanted its name and its "spirit of interdisciplinary and independent studies" to continue, its students would be able to continue their studies at UMass, and that Hampshire's staff and faculty would be considered for positions at UMass. Ultimately, UMass and Hampshire could not come to an agreement. In September 2019,

1245-463: A similar push called the Radical Departure, calling for a more holistic, organic integration of education into students' lives. The most durable legacy of the Radical Departure was EPEC, a series of student-led non-credit courses. A more detailed account of movements such as these can be found in A Documentary History of Hampshire College, Vol. 4: 1995–2005 . John Moen John Moen

1328-461: A single high-pressure test. As a result, it was dropped from the U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Ranking . The next year, the college said this move decreased the quantity but increased the quality and diversity of applicants, eliminated the incentive to "game" the U.S. News & World Report ranking by admitting less-qualified students with higher numerical scores or encouraging unqualified students to apply. Opened on April 26, 2017,

1411-592: A small number of colleges and universities in the United States with an openly gay president. Professor Marlene Gerber Fried was interim president from 2010 to 2011. Jonathan Lash was named the sixth president of the College in May 2011, joining Hampshire as an internationally recognized expert on global sustainability, climate change, and environmental challenges and solutions. Two US Presidents have appointed him to serve on

1494-646: Is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts . It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges in the Pioneer Valley : Amherst College , Smith College , Mount Holyoke College , and the University of Massachusetts Amherst . Together they are known as the Five College Consortium . The campus also houses the National Yiddish Book Center and Eric Carle Museum , and hosts

1577-491: Is a musician and member of The Decemberists , Black Prairie , Boston Spaceships , Eyelids, and Perhapst. Moen has played the drums since he was 15 years old. Prior to joining The Decemberists, Moen played with over 20 bands including singer-songwriter Elliott Smith , Heatmiser , The Jicks , Cavemanish Boys, The Dharma Bums , The Minus 5 , and the Maroons. Moen has worked with Decemberists side project Black Prairie . Moen

1660-608: Is based at Hampshire; its director is Michael Klare . The national reproductive rights organization Civil Liberties and Public Policy (CLPP) operates on Hampshire's campus, where they host an annual conference. In 2014 Hampshire announced the formation of a new concentration, in Psychoanalytic Studies. Hampshire College is the youngest of the schools in the Five-College Consortium. The other schools are Amherst College , Mt. Holyoke College , Smith College and

1743-464: Is these bands that perform really well. Heatmiser were just a phenomenal, rip-your-head-off-and-shove-it-up-your-ass rock band. I saw them hundreds of times. Elliott was so into it; in every photo I took of them onstage from that time, he's biting his lip. The thing I remember most vividly is that he always had this exact same rocking motion in his body language. [Both Neil and Elliott] were writing really good songs, but I immediately recognized that Elliott

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1826-461: The University of Massachusetts Amherst . Students at each of the schools may take classes and borrow books at the other schools, generally without paying additional fees. They may use resources at the other schools, including internet access, dining halls, and so forth. The five colleges collectively offer over 5,300 courses, and the five libraries have over eight million books. The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) operates bus services between

1909-480: The Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC) since the 2011–12 academic year. Hampshire competes in eight intercollegiate varsity sports, including basketball, cross country, soccer, and track & field. The oldest currently running publication at Hampshire is The Omen literary magazine, which published its first issue in 1993. The magazine accepts submissions from all students. The Omen published

1992-524: The College's first president, Franklin Patterson , together with Hampshire's founding employee from Amherst College who would become its second president, Chuck Longsworth. The Making of a College is (as of 2003) out of print but available in electronic form from the Hampshire College Archives. Hampshire admitted its first students in 1970. For several years immediately after its founding in

2075-573: The Dean of Students office and the Office of the President, demanding more transparency from the administration and board of trustees and for student, staff, and faculty voices to be taken into account in decision-making processes. The occupation in the Dean of Students office ended after a few weeks, and the sit-in in the president's office lasted for 75 days, ending on April 22, 2019. Following an announcement of

2158-471: The Door?" Gust recalled how "Who's Behind the Door?" came together in the studio and how that was the last session he shared with Smith before his passing in 2003: "Who's Behind the Door?" was one of four new songs No. 2 played on what turned out to be our final tour. Elliott came to our show in L.A. at The Troubadour and offered to record us at the studio he was putting together for himself [New Monkey Studio] in

2241-656: The Hill club, recalled Smith as "part charismatic rock star, part bar-band regular, oozing nonchalant confidence". Heatmiser also had a less-serious side: Somewhere in the middle of the set the band started goofing off; Gust pushed Smith down in the middle of a song. Later, Heatmiser tossed self-effacing cracks at the audience, perhaps to parody Smith's reputation for despondence. Between songs, bassist Coomes proclaimed, 'We've got Søren Kierkegaard on guitar.' To which Smith jokingly announced, 'This one's called Fear and Trembling .' I suppose I should have known that any band named after

2324-725: The Ken Burns Initiative to Transform Higher Education. In January 2023, Stonyfield Yogurt cofounder and Hampshire alumnus Gary Hirshberg invested $ 1 million in the campaign. In 2021, the College rebuilt its admissions operations, resulting in a 68 percent increase in enrollment over fall 2020 and a 100 percent increase in first-year enrollments over 2020. In fall of 2022, Hampshire welcomed its largest entering class since 2018, with 275 new students. In 2020, continuing its legacy of innovation, Hampshire did away with departmental structures, reorganizing around urgent, global challenges like climate change, white supremacy, and life in

2407-616: The New College Plan, donated $ 6 million toward the founding of Hampshire College. With a matching grant from the Ford Foundation , Hampshire's first trustees purchased 800 acres (3.2 km ) of orchard and farmland in South Amherst, Massachusetts, and construction began. One of the most important founding documents of Hampshire College is the book The Making of a College (MIT Press, 1967; ISBN   0-262-66005-9 ), co-written by

2490-542: The Paris Climate Agreement. They signed the We Are Still In campaign along with 2,600 total signers. In the spring of 2004, a student group calling itself Re-Radicalization of Hampshire College (Re-Rad) emerged with a manifesto called "The Re-Making of a College", which critiqued what they saw as a betrayal of Hampshire's founding ideas in alternative education and student-centered learning. On May 3, 2004,

2573-538: The R.W. Kern Center is the 17th Living Building in the world certified under the advanced green-building standard, the Living Building Challenge . The building cost $ 10.4 million made possible by private donations. It operates net-zero energy, water, and waste. The building is powered by solar panels on its roof, supplies its own drinking water by harvesting rainwater from its roof, manages its wastewater on site, and contains composting toilets. The Kern Center

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2656-882: The Robert Crown Center, Library, Cole Science Center, Franklin Patterson Hall, Merrill House, and Greenwich House. The plan is made possible by a $ 1 million gift. Hampshire College planned to become the first college in the United States to be 100% solar powered. The solar panel array is a part of the college's main goal - to be climate-neutral by 2020 according to their extensive Climate Action Plan developed in April 2012. The school purchases solar credits and sells solar energy from its field. They began construction in February 2015. Two witness tests were conducted in June 2017 and its final one conducted November 2017. Since June 2017, part of

2739-475: The Valley. We showed up, tracked the basics for two songs in one day, then Jim [Talstra] and John [Moen] packed up and headed back to Portland. I stayed for what I thought was going to be a couple days of overdubs. Instead, I was there for two weeks trying to finish one song. Elliott finished the mix long after I returned to Portland in order to keep my job, but I didn't hear it until after he died. This recording session

2822-460: The annual Hampshire College Summer Studies in Mathematics . The college utilizes an alternative curriculum, with an emphasis on progressive pedagogy and self-directed academic concentrations, a focus on portfolios rather than distribution requirements , and a reliance on narrative evaluations instead of grades and GPAs . In January 2019, following the announcement that the college would seek

2905-595: The backing band tracks for [Stranger Than Fiction's] Still Waters More or Less at Eric Hedford's house in 1985–86. He had a basement with drums, mics, a piano, and a mixer. He helped us set up, but he didn't play on any of it." With Heatmiser in need of a bassist, a high school friend suggested Brandt Peterson to fill the position. Peterson had played in a few punk bands, but "was feeling ambivalent about another." Smith convinced him to join Heatmiser, at least until their February 14, 1992 live debut at Portland's X-Ray Cafe. Over

2988-448: The band and became less and less willing to do that." After Heatmiser's breakup, Smith and Lash "didn't talk for a couple years," Lash said, but they reconnected in London in 1999, as Smith toured for XO at the height of his post-Oscars fame, with Coomes in [his] backing band. And Gust had a new project, No. 2 , that brought Smith and Lash together again. "We hung out a little bit when he

3071-435: The band and there [were] things to deal with the band, but he just drifted into his own thing." Despite Smith's burgeoning solo career, there wasn't tension between him and Gust. "There was never any animosity between me and him about it, because it was art," Gust said. "It only became problematic with scheduling stuff, if the band needed to go on tour or something. He had to give up on doing some things on his own to do it with

3154-474: The band emotionally or whatever. It actually came down to me kicking [Peterson] out, even though everybody agreed to it. We met up to do it, but then [he] started asking everyone personally if they wanted him out. Then it came to me and I said I wanted him out. That guy was just such an asshole. That guy I don’t really care that much about. I mean, he was an okay guy, and we were friends for a while, but he just kind of worked up everybody’s nerves. His sense of humour

3237-400: The band, and he has stated that "[his] view of the legacy of Heatmiser is those records. It was a great time in my life. It's been something that has paid off in my life over and over, far more than it ever paid at the time." Tony Lash also looks back on his time in Heatmiser favorably: "I have a lot of fond memories of that time. Portland still has an extremely vibrant music scene, but there was

3320-442: The bands were pretty much guaranteed at least $ 300—which was huge in 1993—and the shows had Heatmiser, Crackerbash, Pond , Hazel , The Dandy Warhols. It was all local. It sold out every Monday, because nobody had a job, really—this was the early '90s and there was no work. The bands would get their cash and, more importantly, they would have the experience of playing in front of 1,000 people who knew their songs. What you ended up with

3403-420: The board announced the decision to prioritize remaining independent through a capital campaign led by alumnus Ken Burns . Ken Rosenthal was named interim president. The first round of layoffs primarily affected the admissions and fundraising offices, effective April 19, 2019. Ed Wingenbach became the new president in August. Gradually, more information was released on what had happened. In February, following

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3486-424: The circumstances of Hampshire's founding tends to perennially attract students who revive the questions about education the institution was founded on, and who challenge the administration to honor the founding mission. Unsurprisingly, then, Re-Rad was not the first student push of its type. Similar efforts have sprung up at Hampshire with some regularity, with varying impacts. In 1996, student Chris Kawecki spearheaded

3569-447: The claymation villain in the dated The Year Without a Santa Claus would have a sense of humor. Later in his career, Smith believed that his blatant dismissal of the band in interviews for his solo albums hurt Neil Gust and led to discontent between them. The success of Roman Candle and Elliott Smith caused tensions in the band, especially between Smith and Gust, and led to the band's break-up. Gust has "the fondest memories" of

3652-595: The college was considering not accepting a new first-year class for Fall 2019, due to concerns with compliance and accreditation. On February 1, the board of trustees voted that, for the Fall 2019 semester, it would only be admitting about 60 students who had already been offered early admission or who had previously deferred admission until Fall 2019. Furthermore, early admission students were released from their pledge to attend Hampshire College. Some alumni protested these decisions, as did many students, who organized sit-ins in

3735-637: The college was the first in the world to divest from fossil-fuels. In 2012, they developed the Climate Action Plan for climate neutrality by 2022. Hampshire College Farm expanded their education and operation, establishing the Center for New England and Agriculture. In 2014 the main traffic circle and parking lot was eliminated and turned into a meadow. They also stopped mowing dozen acres of lawns in hopes of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, saving landscaping expenses and creating wildlife and plant habitats. In

3818-557: The college's Web site. On August 23, 2012, the school announced the establishment of a scholarship fund dedicated to helping undocumented students get degrees. It would give more than $ 25,000 yearly to help an undocumented student pay for the $ 43,000-plus tuition. On January 15, 2019, president Miriam Nelson and the Board of Trustees announced that the college was planning to seek a strategic partner to ensure long-term sustainability due to financial instability and small endowment. In addition,

3901-621: The continuing attacks on New College of Florida intended to limit intellectual exploration, turn back progress toward inclusion, and curtail open discussion of race, injustice, and histories of oppression," Hampshire College extended an invitation of admission to its students, matching their current cost of tuition. Hampshire athletic teams are the Black Sheep. The college is a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), primarily competing in

3984-469: The early 1970s, the large number of applications for matriculation caused Hampshire College to be among the most selective undergraduate programs in the United States. Its admissions selectivity declined after that because of declining application popularity. The school's number of applications increased again in the late 1990s, causing increased admissions selectivity. The school has been financially challenged throughout its history, largely because it lacked

4067-402: The end, initially out of the kindness of his heart, because Heatmiser had a different bass player who was so confrontational that we eventually kicked him out. Boy, that was an unpleasant thing to do. I mean, kicking someone out of a band is like breaking up with somebody. At least in the band it was, because everybody except for me was really into it. I, to a certain degree, was pretty invested in

4150-799: The first-year class was 13 students. Total enrollment was around 750 students, substantially less than typical, due to decreased retention rates. The fundraising campaign, Change in the Making: A Campaign for Hampshire was launched in late 2019 with the goal of raising $ 60 million in unrestricted operating support by 2024. By March 2023, nearly $ 40 million had been raised. Alumnus documentarian Ken Burns committed to serve as cochair. In November 2020, Hampshire received its largest single donation since its founding, $ 5 million, by alumnus James S. Crown and his wife, Paula H. Crown. Later that month, alumnus Dr. Lucy McFadden contributed $ 2 million. In January 2022, The College received an anonymous gift of $ 5 million to fund

4233-645: The group staged a demonstration that packed the hall outside the President's office during an administrative meeting. Response from the community was generally amicable and Re-Rad made some progress. The Re-Radicalization movement was responding in part to a new "First-Year Plan" that changed the structure of the first year of study. Beginning in the Fall of 2002, the requirements for passing Division I were changed so that first-year students no longer had to complete independent projects (see Curriculum above). Re-Rad submitted its own counter-proposal in both 2006 and 2007, but these proposals were not acted on, and no follow-up

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4316-409: The group's music as "loud", and his own singing on their first album as "an embarrassment". Smith also bemoaned that being in Heatmiser changed the songs he was writing at the time into "loud rock songs with no dynamic." Heatmiser also frustrated the members of the band. In an interview, Smith recalled: I was being a total actor, acting out a role I didn't even like. I couldn't come out and show where I

4399-456: The inclusive design process, the design and materials, our construction practices, and our reporting about the building... [w]hy are buildings constructed any other way? In every way, the Kern Center was built to learn and teach." In the next 20 years, the college plans to reduce 50% of current consumption of energy, another major goal stated in their Climate Action Plan. They plan to renovate

4482-446: The longest tenure of any Hampshire president. On April 1, 2004, Prince announced his retirement, effective at the end of the 2004–2005 academic year. On April 5, 2005, the Board of Trustees named Ralph Hexter , formerly a dean at University of California, Berkeley 's College of Letters and Science, as the college's next president, effective August 1, 2005. Hexter was inaugurated on October 15, 2005. The appointment made Hampshire one of

4565-565: The mid-1990s, the college began establishing a "cultural village" making possible the residence of independent non-profit organizations on its campus. The cultural village includes the National Yiddish Book Center , the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and The Hitchcock Center for the Environment . Adele Simmons served as the College's third president from 1977 to 1989. Gregory Prince served as its fourth president from 1989 to 2005,

4648-535: The next few years, Heatmiser was a regular act at local Portland venues like the X-Ray Cafe, screenprinting shop Hand Prints, and La Luna, whose cheap, packed Monday night concerts were a hub for the city's twenty-something underground social scene. Brandt Peterson played bass on the albums Dead Air and Cop and Speeder , the Yellow No. 5 EP, and several singles. He wrote at least two songs for Heatmiser: "Just

4731-460: The possibility that 30%–50% of the faculty and staff might be laid off, the faculty held a vote of no confidence in President Nelson, the board chair, the board vice chair, the incoming board chair, the board treasurer, and the vice president for finance and administration. Because a binding motion is required to be public for seven days before it is acted on, the February 20 no-confidence vote

4814-777: The presidents of Amherst, Mount Holyoke, Smith Colleges, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst appointed a committee to examine the assumptions and practices of liberal arts education. Their report, "The New College Plan", advocated many of the features that have since been realized in the Hampshire curriculum: inviting students to self-design their program of studies; training students to be able to educate themselves through their lifetimes; emphasis on each student's curiosity and motivation; learning among and across multiple disciplines; and close mentoring relationships with teachers. In 1965, Amherst College alumnus Harold F. Johnson, inspired by

4897-782: The real firsthand experience of doing it. So that was reason number one." The president has declared that switching to renewable energy is "just the right thing to do in an era of accelerating climate change." He also noted this project will keep jobs local and avoid pipelines being built through people's communities to get power to our college." In February of 2023, The College announced that it had achieved its 2022 goal of carbon neutrality for all campus emissions, including electricity and natural gas heating. Since 2011, Hampshire College has been involved in various projects to "transform its food systems, campus operations, curriculum and campus culture to embrace sustainability." The college's advances in sustainability include various projects. In 2011,

4980-585: The road. Other solar sources on campus contribute to the primary solar array's power production: the Kern Center rooftop solar arrays, the CSA Barn, the president's house, and the Longworth Arts Center canopy. The president stated that "[t]his is the challenge that our students and every other student is going to face in the next 20 years, how to turn the US economy into a low-carbon economy ... and they're going to get

5063-568: The rock thing, and I think that I became emblematic of everything that was bad about that for him. Lash also recalled his memories of the band's tense relationship while recording Mic City Sons , and their eventual breakup: At the time, it was hard to sort through it all. It's the kind of things [that], maybe if these issues came up when people are in their 30s or 40s and have some better communication skills, wouldn't be so hard to process. Lash left Heatmiser in late 1996, prior to what would be their final tour. John Moen (later of The Decemberists )

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5146-526: The same year, they installed an electric car-charging station behind the library. In 2015 they permanently protected 46 acres of their property through a conservation restriction. The Kern Center became their first 100% emission-free building in 2016 and the Hitchcock Center for the Environment built its new living building on Hampshire land. In 2017, Hampshire College pledged to continue to support climate action and reduce carbon emissions in accordance with

5229-470: The school band—Lash played flute, Smith played clarinet—and Lash played drums in Smith's band Stranger Than Fiction. Lash and Smith had bonded over a mutual love of Rush , and outside of their high school band class, they began to work out "insanely complicated songs" together, recording after school with Eric Hedford , future Dandy Warhols drummer. Tony Lash recalled about recording with Hedford: "We recorded all

5312-399: The schools and the greater Pioneer Valley area. There are two joint departments in the five-college consortium: Dance and Astronomy. Hampshire College stopped accepting SAT and ACT scores of applicants in 2014 both to eliminate income and ethnicity biases in standardized testing and focus assessment on data better correlated with college success and on a longer period of time rather than

5395-832: The sixth issue of its 59th volume in 2023. Hampshire College is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education . Hampshire College describes itself as "experimenting" rather than "experimental", to emphasize the changing nature of its curriculum. From its inception, the curriculum has generally had certain non-traditional features: The curriculum is divided into three "divisions" rather than four grade-years: Division II takes up two years, while Divisions I and III take up one. Its most popular majors, by 2021 graduates, were: The Hampshire College faculty are organized broadly in defined Schools of thought: The Five College Program in Peace and World Security Studies (PAWSS)

5478-466: The solar array has been powering the college. The solar panels cover 19 acres consisting of 15,000 panels which will eventually produce 4.7 megawatts of power. Hampshire College contracted with SolarCity to install the panels. The college announced it will save up to $ 8 million in electricity cost in 20 years and $ 400,000 yearly. The 4.7 megawatts of solar power avoids 3,000 metric tons of greenhouse-gas emissions per year, equivalent to 650 fewer cars on

5561-475: The studio; as engineer, Lash felt he'd become an 'obstacle' to Smith, who wanted to bring in Beck producers Rob Schnapf and Tom Rothrock to shepherd the sessions. The buffer of the new producers helped bring the album together, but at some point in 1996, the band fell apart. Mic City Sons was released on a smaller Virgin sister label, Caroline, and slipped into the world quietly." Going on unemployment after losing

5644-402: The uniqueness of the 1990s Portland music scene in relation to Heatmiser: A phenomenal thing happened in Portland in the early '90s. At La Luna, someone had this idea to charge one dollar at the door to see three local bands every Monday night. The club capacity was maybe 1,000, and they got to keep the bar, but the bands could sell merchandise and they got 100% of the door. So every Monday night

5727-409: Was a gravy-train at the time. The breakup happened almost immediately after the contract was signed. I watched myself put my paw in the bear trap on that one because there was this clause about leaving members. In the event of the band dissolving, any members could be kept to that contract with or without their consent under the same terms. They didn't pick up Neil's option, only mine. It turned out to be

5810-426: Was a guy that I met in high school. He played flute in the high-school band, which is where I learned how to play the drums. Discussing the tension in the band, Peterson later recalled: Every individual in the band had identities that were bound up with some sense of injuries, of not fitting in or whatever. I didn't really understand myself really well, I drank pretty heavily. And Elliott was increasingly unhappy with

5893-449: Was attempted. The Re-Radicalization of Hampshire College assisted the administration in launching a pilot program known as mentored independent study . This program paired ten third semester students with Division III students with similar academic interests to complete a small study—observed by, and subject to the approval of, a faculty member. While some students worry about what they see as Hampshire's headlong plunge into normality,

5976-502: Was brought in to play drums. Regarding Mic City Sons , Coomes said: There's a song called "See You Later" on [the album]... I remember hearing that song for the first time and telling Elliott, 'This song's going to buy you a house.' Houses were cheaper in those days. Lash recalled: Neil's stuff on that last record was really strong. [Smith and Gust's] relationship to each other was good for both of their songwriting. Gust stated: I hope that it doesn't sound dated. We loved it when it

6059-428: Was built using materials from local sources without the use of any toxic "red list" materials; even materials such as duct tape were chosen carefully to comply with strict environmental standards. Currently, the Kern Center houses Admissions and financial aid offices as well as classrooms, student lounges, and a coffee shop. President Jonathan Lash stated that "[w]ith this building we have sought to reflect our values, in

6142-420: Was coming from. I was always disguised in this loud rock band. [In the beginning] we all got together, everyone wanted to play in a band and it was fun, then after a couple of years we realized that none of us really liked this kind of music, and that we didn't have to play this way. You didn't have to turn all these songs you wrote into these loud... things. [...] It was kinda weird – people that came to our shows,

6225-412: Was done. We worked on it until we could say that we loved it. The band broke up in the fall of 1996, prior to the release of their third and last album, Mic City Sons . "It was kind of ridiculous to carry it up to a certain point and then drop the ball or the bomb, like quitting the band right after we had signed to Virgin," recalled Smith. "I was the guy who made that gravy-train crash so to speak, and it

6308-592: Was gay until he told me one day. It was very upsetting to him because he hadn’t told anyone. But it wasn’t upsetting to me. I had just never thought about it. By that point, just about all my friends that were men were gay." Asked by Under The Radar ' s Marcus Kagler why he thought that was, Smith explained: "Oh, I was around 20 or 19, and a lot of straight guys were... you know, just having kinds of conversations that I couldn’t really relate to. You know, just like very high-school. You know, like not being able to relate to jocks in high school. Sort of like that. Tony [Lash]

6391-547: Was in 1993, at X-Ray in Portland. I had this visceral response, which I've only had with a few bands. I was impressed by every single member. Elliott was clearly an uber-talented songwriter, Neil [Gust] was clearly an almost-as-talented songwriter, and they both had terrific singing voices and were really gifted guitar players. The drummer [Tony Lash] was excellent. There was not a slacker in Heatmiser. Neil and Elliott had very different guitar skills that complemented each other beautifully. In fact, when I met them, I would say that Neil

6474-425: Was not binding. A week later, the majority of the faculty decided not to move forward with a binding vote of no confidence. On March 31, the chair of the board of trustees resigned. On April 5, Miriam Nelson, the Board's Vice Chair, and six other trustees resigned. Nelson said that her continued presence would be a "distraction" from the necessary work of improving the college's financial future. Shortly afterwards,

6557-449: Was such that he always had to be making fun of somebody. He was just not a good time. Regarding his friendships with Neil Gust and Tony Lash, Smith recalled: I’d been living with [Heatmiser's] other singer and songwriter, Neil [Gust], for like years and years. Not as his boyfriend, but as his roommate. Not that it matters. I don’t care. That kind of thing I don’t think is anybody’s business. It never really occurred to me whether or not Neil

6640-429: Was the last time I saw him. Heatmiser was labeled as a "homocore" or "queercore" band by the mainstream press, because of the themes espoused in the songs of the openly gay Gust. It was also speculated that Gust and Smith were lovers. Elliott Smith repeatedly denied this in interviews or that he was even gay. Smith also said that Gust's being gay was "not a big deal, [nor] anyone's business". Elliott Smith later dismissed

6723-561: Was the more accomplished of the two. But Elliott had a natural aptitude that was unique. He could hear music and make it come out of his fingers in a way that most guitar players can't. He never stumbled. It was like there was a channel that went straight from his brain to his fingers, and that was immediately evident watching him play live. You only see that kind of skill level once in a while, so when you see it, you know it. Their musical style has been described as indie rock , indie pop , alternative rock , and post-hardcore . Gonson spoke of

6806-486: Was working on the first No. 2 record. I started to get a feeling like, 'Oh, you know, even if it wasn't Heatmiser...' It was fun to think about the possibility of maybe doing something with him. So it was hard when that door was closed." Gust went on to play in the band No. 2. Coomes carried on as half of Quasi , as well as working as a guest musician and producer for other bands, including Built to Spill , Sleater-Kinney , and Bugskull . Lash currently keeps himself busy as

6889-418: Was writing in a way that maybe... appealed to me more personally? When they did that Yellow No. 5 EP, the song "Idler" might have been around when I started to go 'whoa, whoa, whoa.' That really quiet, haunting thing. Brendan Benson was the opening act for Heatmiser on their final tour. Reporter Jeff Stark's SF Weekly article about a date on that tour, a December 1, 1996 show at San Francisco's Bottom of

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