AMHERST — A member of the Amherst Town Council is explaining the challenges of being an openly gay politician in a video released this week.
District 4 Councilor Evan Ross put out the 5-minute recording in which he discusses homophobia and how it is harder for him because sexuality itself is judged against what he calls a “heteronormative standard.”
The video was put out following allegations against Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse that he engaged in inappropriate behavior with college students while a lecturer at the University of Massachusetts. Morse, who is also openly gay, is challenging U.S. Congressman Richard Neal in the Sept. 1 primary.
Ross says he remains unapologetically and proudly gay.
“Even though I’m proud of it, I do so with a level of anxiety and fear that my life could be upended because of my choice to live openly and authentically and transparently, and my refusal to moderate my gayness,” Ross said.
Ross added that he worries about calls to tone it down and rein it in, and overcoming tropes about gay men being predators.
“We need to acknowledge that gay politicians are allowed to be gay,” Ross said, adding that they can have consensual sex with other adults, rather than being shamed.
The Amherst Mobile Market, ValleyBike, and the Common Share Food Co-op are inviting community members to the East Hadley Road ValleyBike station to learn about ways to stay healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., attendees at the Celebración de Salud/Celebration of Health event will be able to buy locally grown produce, try out a bicycle or sign up for a membership with the planned co-op store.
Income-eligible attendees will be reimbursed for purchases through the Healthy Incentives Program, and get a discount ValleyBike access pass, or sign up for a sponsored co-op membership.
The event will also feature a special workshop by Amherst resident, José Lugo, titled “Plantando la Semilla de la Danza Azteca Prehispanica.” This will include storytelling, movement, and an oral history of the Mexican tradition of Danza Azteca Prehispanica.
“With the Amherst Mobile Market being set up right next to the ValleyBike station, it felt like there was a tremendous opportunity to promote two of the basic building blocks of health, healthy eating and active living,” Caitlin Marquis, coordinator for Healthy Hampshire, said in a statement.
Amherst residents can get new stickers for using the transfer station in fiscal year 2021 through the town’s website at amherstma.gov or by getting paper forms at the Belchertown Road site.
All stickers will be issued by mail.
A doctoral student in Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts and her adviser are receiving a 2020 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Fellowship for Advanced Study.
Nadia Fernandez of Elkhart, Indiana, and molecular ecologist Lisa Komoroske are among 45 adviser-student teams to get the award. The award identifies emerging scientific leaders in biomedical and life sciences and supports a student’s research and professional goals, while improving faculty mentoring skills.
“I’m excited to network with other incredible scientists who are committed to increasing diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice in the sciences,” Fernandez said in a statement.
MONDAY: Town Council, 5 p.m. virtual meeting.
TUESDAY: Disability Access Advisory Committee, 11:30 a.m., virtual meeting.
WEDNESDAY: Amherst Cultural Council, 4:30 p.m., virtual meeting.