Walking into the new Amherst College Store downtown, I'm reminded of the old Saturday Night Live skit, "Scotch Boutique." There, a family, led by John Belushi, put its life savings into a mall store that sells only scotch tape (all sizes). When a customer asks for the new Stevie Wonder cassette tape, for example, they have to explain, "No, just the sticky kind." Gone from the old Hastings landmark are not only the charmingly creaky wood floors, but also all the stuff that a random pedestrian walking by might want/need that does not have the Amherst insignia or a shaggy extinct pachyderm on it: cards, envelopes, puzzles, calendars, candy, games ... Instead we have an aridly corporate space with a very narrow appeal — alas, the "Scotch Boutique" lives again!

Adam Siegel

Amherst