A new segment in the updated student code of conduct has stated that starting from the 2025-26 school year, all school-provided microwaves and fridges will be removed, except for ones in existing communal kitchens. In addition, personal microwaves will be prohibited in student rooms. This, by the way, is not normal. Most colleges offer both fridges and microwaves as a bare minimum to their students. Removing them is a terrible idea, for several reasons:

Firstly, this is terrible for accessibility for non-local students and those who can't simply purchase their fridges for use at Amherst. This is especially problematic since most dorms do not even have air conditioning, and fridges are extremely important for many people to stay cool during the summer months.

Secondly, this effectively forces anyone with allergies to depend solely on Val, as dozens of people sharing a microwave will produce major contamination risks. 

Third, since late-night is not open 7 days a week, and Val has limited menu options at best, this change will still negatively impact students who do not have allergies. This change will overall decrease the diversity and flexibility of students' diets. Considering how often shared facilities break and how one mistake can ruin a microwave, this change drastically lowers the ease for students to prepare their own meals.

Fourth, even for the students who can afford their own fridges, chances are that those minifridges would be discarded or left behind after graduation, leaving hundreds of minifridges for the trash or, at the bare minimum, creating a massive headache for the campus sustainability office. 

Share this petition and updated rule with your fellow classmates and your parents—they play a major role in the Amherst community and could hold a lot of sway over such matters.