Amherst College Drops ‘Lord Jeff’ as Mascot

1341921726_4c1b78ed3c_mIn 1763, as a part of a perfidious plan to annihilate Native American communities, colonial commander Jeffery Amherst suggested that the military consider distributing small pox infested blankets to finally “extirpate this execrable race”. Two centuries later, General Amherst or “Lord Jeff” as many students and staff of Amherst College (named after the town of Amherst) had come to call their unofficial mascot, has made history again. In a statement released this month, the trustees of the New England college announced that the institution will no longer be using the name of the ignominious leader in any official capacity.