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By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Arrests at a May 2024 Gaza solidarity encampment, alleged discriminatory sanctions and reported failures to address anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian harassment is leading the Council on American-Islamic Relations to declare the University of Massachusetts a hostile campus for Muslim and Palestinian students.

By ALEXA LEWIS

EASTHAMPTON — Where community members may have seen an empty storefront, Trista Nadolski saw opportunity. The result was the city’s newest ice cream spot, which is already bustling as residents seek some cold treats to beat the rising heat.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A presentation of the Human Rights Commission’s Youth Hero Awards and a picnic will highlight Race Amity Day: A Celebration of the Oneness of the Human Family, taking place Sunday at Mill River Recreation Area, 95 Montague Road.

By CAROLYN BROWN

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Holyoke was known for its thriving paper industry – that’s how it got the nickname “Paper City.” Now, over a century later, the city will celebrate the legacy and impact that paper production had on the area with the inaugural Holyoke Paper Festival.

By CAROLYN BROWN

Last September, the City of Belchertown put out a call for muralists to decorate three unusual canvases: transfer station containers, which hold large amounts of recyclable materials. The intent, according to a press release, was to “enhance the visual appeal of the site while also conveying the message that every resident’s effort contributes to a larger process.” Each mural had to use imagery related to Belchertown, drawing from nearly 100 responses to a community survey, and follow the theme “recycle, reuse, reduce, regenerate.”

The Northampton Jazz Festival will screen “Brownie Speaks,” a documentary about the life of jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown, at 33 Hawley on Thursday, June 12, at 8 p.m.

By RUTHERFORD H. PLATT

As a “senior citizen” myself, most of my older friends and mentors are dwindling away. On Tuesday evening, May 27, a longtime role model and friend, Alexander Polikoff, passed away peacefully in Keene, New Hampshire at the age of 98 with his family at his side. Although I saw more of Alex at our monthly lunch and conversation visits over the past three years than previously, I have known and admired him as a brilliant and tenacious civil rights lawyer since my early career as a fledgling environmental lawyer working in downtown Chicago in the late 1960s, near his public interest law firm.

By JAMES LOMASTRO

As we mark the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War’s conclusion in 2025, we confront anew the enduring questions that follow in the conflict’s wake. How do societies move forward while honoring the truth of what occurred? The answer lies not in convenient forgetting but in the difficult practice of remembrance. There exists a fundamental distinction between forgiveness and amnesty and an even sharper distinction between amnesty and amnesia. While societies may grant legal pardons or establish reconciliation processes, these mechanisms cannot and should not erase the collective memory of suffering.

I am an alumna of Smith College. On May 21, I saw this headline in the Daily Hampshire Gazette: “Musician Evelyn Harris returns honorary degree to Smith College after plagiarized speech.” On May 22, I saw this headline on the back of the Smith Alumni Quarterly: ”Cancelling Cancel Culture.” There are surely as many viewpoints on what constitutes plagiarism or “cancellation” as there are possible paths forward now. I graduated 25 years ago and chose to stay in the Valley largely because of its culture of inclusivity and care. I think Smith is an important contributor to that culture and has an opportunity to reconsider this situation now with an ethic of care at the center.

I object to the unfounded accusations against retired Rev. Peter Kakos, made by a recent letter writer in these pages. I stand out regularly with Rev. Kakos and have come to know him as a man of God, for whom God is love. We stand out calling for an end to U.S. arms shipments to Israel as it carries out attacks against Gaza that have leveled the landscape. The people of Gaza have been forsaken in a most terrible way. Right now, before the whole world, a mass starvation is taking place due to the restriction of aid by the Israeli government. Recently, it was reported that 14,000 babies are in danger of dying in the next few days. These are war crimes. It is not antisemitic to protest war crimes, it is in fact, standing up for peace, justice, a better world and to remind our community that the light of life and God are in all living beings, including Palestinians.

By MADISON SCHOFIELD

SUNDERLAND — The Zoning Board of Appeals has continued the public hearing on a proposed 9,100-square-foot Dollar General store on Route 116 to June 24.

By CHRIS LISINSKI

Representatives on one legislative committee are not ready to decide whether one of the most controversial proposals on their plate should move forward early in the lawmaking term.

By CHRIS LARABEE

DEERFIELD — Deerfield Academy has reached a “low six-figure settlement” with another sexual abuse victim of longtime teacher Peter G. Hindle.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — Dave Dombrowski’s decision to run for mayor has been one that’s been six years in the making.

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — Summer has yet to officially begin, but municipal elections in the city continue to heat up as 28 candidates have already pulled nomination papers to run for positions on the City Council or School Committee.

By J.M. SORRELL

On Oct. 7, 2023, the modest community of the Nir Oz kibbutz was decimated — with over a quarter of its population slaughtered or kidnapped by Hamas terrorists. Seventy-four-year-old Bracha Levinson, a child of Holocaust survivors, was alone in her home and in her safe room where she did not have the physical capacity to hold the door. The terrorists took her phone and posted a video of her on her Facebook page as she was lying in a pool of her own blood with the killers standing over her. All of her family and friends saw it.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — One resident is suggesting that any time federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents are active in Amherst, town officials should immediately call a hotline that activates a network of immigrant-rights advocates.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — School staff members are calling on the Amherst, Amherst-Pelham Regional and Pelham school committees to bring back the School Equity Task Force following reported anti-Black incidents at the middle school this year and ongoing accusations of inappropriate behavior being made against Black educators in that building.

By CHRIS LARABEE

WHATELY — Come Jan. 1, all addresses in Whately will be unified under ZIP code 01093.

By JENNY ADAMS

Congratulations, high school seniors! You have graduated! You now have two months to relax before you pack your bags, move to college, and … choose your major!