Opinion By Alex Cox || coxalexj@gmail.com

Hey Current readers! This article is a little different than most of what I write, so I’m gonna give you a quick summary here. The article starts with a Not-So-Brief personal note, in which I share (a lot of) my thoughts about Town dialogue and (hopefully) provide some context for The Future of the Current’s Council Column. I don’t expect you to read it all (although you’re welcome to), so please scroll through to the part that interests you. Thank you, as always, for your readership!

A [Not-So-Brief] Personal Note

When you spend as much time at Town Council meetings as I do, you start to pick up on the small idiosyncrasies of each of our wonderful Town Councilors. One of our Councilors always lets go of their microphone button in the middle of speaking (to the chagrin of everyone else). Another almost always forgets to lower their virtual “hand” on zoom when they finish speaking. Yet another will catch any unclosed parentheses and quotation marks (seriously – it’s uncanny). It’s these small quirks that remind me constantly that our elected officials in town and our appointed (volunteer) board and commission members are not just their titles – they are fellow humans with complex thoughts, emotions, and an unending sense of service towards the Town. 

One of the Councilors always claims that they can’t speak clearly past 10pm. I laugh every time that they say it – which is often. Council meetings often stretch late into the night and ask our public servants to handle complex issues with care and exactitude well past a reasonable hour. Since the beginning of this Council’s term, I have joined them at almost every meeting. I sat (mostly) quietly (I still feel sorry about the time I had bad allergies and was sneezing all meeting) and listened to the legislative process of our Town. What I saw was at times frustrating but mostly heartening; our legislative and executive officials, despite disagreeing with each other frequently, share a sense of pride and commitment to Amherst. 

Our public leaders are working tirelessly to promote climate action, social justice, community health, and so many other goals. I was so enamored when I realized that this is a Town that doesn’t just speak its values, but actually tries to live them. Is there more to do? Absolutely! But, we have started down a path towards equity- we are truly leading the nation in so many initiatives (CRESS, ABRC, and Net-Zero Construction comes to mind). 

After about 6 months of attending meetings, I was asked to write Town Council meeting summaries for the Current. I was humbled by the request – I have a small background in journalism from my undergraduate newspaper but was nervous about covering such an important beat. I was (and am) acutely aware that I was fairly new to Town and was a grad student living off-campus- not a population that Amherst residents often voice support for or politically listen to (more on this later). 

What I did have going for me was the opposite of the phrase oft-repeated by the Councilor past 10pm; I tend to do my best thinking late at night (although I can’t speak to my late-night writing- you’d have to ask my editor about that). Pretty quickly, writing became a routine: go to Town Council meetings, take notes by hand, walk home, drink a redacted amount of caffeine, and draft an article for publication. My life was pretty full already (two jobs, two graduate majors, and a position on a Town Committee will do that), but I always tried to make time for the Council and the Current. They helped me feel grounded and connected to a community that otherwise seemed a little distant.

 Until recently, writing for the Current and being involved in local government have been highlights of my time here. The Current is an all-volunteer team, so it was a bit of an adjustment from a full-fledged print newspaper with wide distribution and professional support. However, I found the Editorial Board to be kind, thoughtful, welcoming, and respectful (even when we disagreed). Spending time with our Town Council has helped me learn so much about what it means to lead with humility and approach problems through a lens of equity. Spending time with the Current has helped me learn how to approach complex issues with nuance and understanding. It made all the late-night meetings and early morning editing sessions worth it. 

However, recent events surrounding the Current’s Council candidate debates and a shift in Town dialogue have made me rethink a lot of what I assumed about Amherst. Increasingly, I have felt a hostility in Town that has made me dread interactions with my neighbors. I have been to many public meetings where residents spend hours discussing how off-campus students never contribute to Town and should be excluded from homes, services, and discussions (a hard thing to hear when I’m on hour five of a meeting that I volunteered to attend in an effort to promote local journalism).

I have heard countless accusations leveled against people trying to serve their town that aren’t followed by an invitation to work towards resolution. I have heard people scream at Town staff armed with nothing but half-truths and a strong feeling that they’re right. I’ve heard people reject facts and refuse to consider issues from multiple angles. To be fully honest, it’s been hard to stomach. More than once, I’ve wanted to walk out of Town Hall in frustration. 

I have always tried to be truthful in my writing for the Current. Even when the Council held discussions that I vehemently disagreed with, I strove to ensure accuracy and reliability in my column. In that spirit, I am going to be honest with you again now: I am suspending my coverage of Town Council meetings largely because the dialogue seems to be getting worse, not better. I sincerely hoped that shedding more light on the operations of our local legislature would help people hold civil conversations about disagreements and have more productive collaboration. Instead, dialogue seems to be getting worse and devolving into name-calling and virtue-signalling. I can’t be a part of it anymore; it hurts my heart too much. What used to be a joyful routine of writing and editing and late-night coffee consumption has increasingly become a routine of crying and anger and sleepless nights. It’s not sustainable (and I would invite us all to remember that when we interact with any Town staff or volunteers), and I need to step back and refocus on the work in my life that still feels productive. 

I apologize for the length of this post – I felt that I needed to get this off my chest. In summary: I’m taking my finger off the mic, putting my Zoom “hand” down, and closing the last quotation mark. I’m reminding you that everyone who is working towards the betterment of the Town is a human too, and inviting you to be more intentional in your interactions moving forward. 

The Future of the Current’s Council Column

As I said above, I am suspending my coverage of the Amherst Town Council. I will still be attending meetings and hope to continue to learn from our Councilors in this and next term. 

I sincerely hope that one (or more) of the people who read this step up and offer to continue (and improve upon) this reporting. As a Councilor said recently, an appropriate expression of displeasure is to adjust the process, not to abstain from it. Local journalism is the bedrock of our democracy. If you’re not happy with the media landscape in Town, it’s time to do something about it. Please, consider volunteering your time and voice. I’ll still be around, and would be happy to teach anything I know worth learning. Come sit at a Town Council meeting with me – I promise they’re fun (no, really) and there are lots of empty seats. Now, more than ever, Amherst needs to hear your voice. 

Alex Cox (he/him) has lived year-round in Amherst since 2023. He is a graduate student at UMass Amherst studying Regional Planning (MRP) and Public Policy and Administration (MPPA). He currently serves on the Amherst Affordable Housing Trust Fund and as the Graduate Director of the Student Union Art Gallery. He served on the Amherst Current editorial board from 2024-2025.