The monkey lab is real, and it is on campus. And they don't torture their animals.

PETA really irritates me, so I figured as someone who has inside information as an AnSci major I'd share what the monkey lab actually is.

The Lacreuse Lab uses marmosets as a model species to study cognitive decline with age, and sex differences in aging. I have met Dr. Lacreuse and she clearly cares deeply about both her research and her lab's animals.

Everything PETA says about her lab is a lie. They do not implant devices into the marmosets' brains. They do not induce hot flashes in the marmosets. And they do not kill the marmosets to dissect their brains (that would completely defeat the purpose of studying them aging).

The Lacreuse Lab meets all federal and University standards for animal care, and like all facilities on campus that house animals they are regularly officially inspected.

When Dr. Lacreuse spoke about her research, she talked about giving the marmosets marshmallows as a treat to reward good behavior, and having them play games on a giant iPad-like device to test their memory. This woman is not abusing monkeys.

Some people believe that animals should not be used for research, and that is a completely valid opinion. Unfortunately, science and technology are not yet advanced enough to eliminate the need for animals in research. It's okay to dislike the use of animal models or morally disagree with it, but what's not okay is PETA constantly verbally attacking and slandering Dr. Lacreuse.

PETA has taken their campaign very far this semester with their stickers and posters and graffiti, and it pisses me off that they so insistently campaign against a law-abiding lab when there are so many real, actual cases of animal abuse they could be focusing on instead.

You can read about the Lacreuse lab and their research here: https://www.lacreuselab.com/

TLDR: Yes the monkey lab is real, no the monkeys are not being tortured. PETA sucks.

where can i buy clear craves in amherst or nearby?? (i’m 21)

I’m deciding on bottom of the hill central, low rise southwest, or northeast just cause of convenience for online room selection. I know the vibes around central, it being similar to O-Hill and southwest always being loud. Northeast on the other hand I’m not sure. I like playing music whether it’s on my guitar or a speaker but I promise it’s not obnoxiously loud. From recent or current Northeast residence, how is the social life cause I really don’t want to act as an inconvenience.

I’ve seen multiple posts and heard discussion detailing the harassment and fetishization of Asian women at umass, and I was just wondering about if anyone had experiences to prove it’s safe for Asian women and these are outlier cases rather than the norm.

I'm a freshman and I'm experiencing really bad loneliness and depression. l've made a few friends but I haven't really made that many strong connections (one person that I thought it I really vibed with ghosted me haha). My roommate and I were close for the first few days and kinda had a good group, but I could tell that the rest of the people in the group were closer once they stopped inviting me to dinner and hangouts for the most part (there's another girl who they treat like that too and l've tried to get closer with her but I just don't think she really wants to lol). Obviously I don't want to be somewhere I'm unwanted so I haven't tried to push myself into the group. It just feels like everyone here already have people from home that they're close with/ have just formed harmonious groups magically really quickly. I'm not like the stereotypical 'reddit' person (not to stereotype but like weird, questionable hygiene, very into anime to an extreme level, you get what i'm saying lol) I just need advice right now. I just don't know why I can't find my people because I'm kind, pretty (not to sound narcotic i just know those are both true because i've had to work on myself to get to both of those points), interesting, open, genuine, always try to include everyone especially when i notice someone being left out, and I put myself out there and introduce myself to new people everyday for the most part. I've also been living on mostly smack because I usually don't have people to go to the dining hall with. Today I went to the dining hall alone because I needed real food and it was so uncomfortable and scary. I can do a lot of stuff by myself but that was easily one of the most nerve racking experiences of my life, and I can't do that again. I just don't know what to do anymore, I keep telling myself each day today it's gonna get better or that it'll be a good day, but idk. It's really hard, I just don't want to be alone like this it's really getting to me l want to be able to enjoy college and be able to eat food without feeling scared : (

Anyone taken/heard about this course and have any tips/advice? Especially any advice about exams since it seems like thats pretty much the entire grade for it lol.

Selling a pdf version of the ECON 103 textbook for $10

hi… i’m a first year student in my first semester and i was wondering if i apply to transfer for the spring season if i have to go. like if i submitted a transfer request and it gets approved do i have to accept it? or do i get to choose if i want to stay next semester and deny the transfer?

[title]

Hi, I’m in statistics 240 and I’ve paid for the wileyplus package that my professor had us buy ($76), but she had mentioned accessing minitab as well. Unfortunately, the syllabus doesn’t have a clear instruction on how to access minitab, only the code, but there’s so many different types of minitab and i’m not sure which one it is. I’d ask a TA, but she doesn’t have any yet. Before I ask her, I was wondering if any of you have had or are in stats 240 and know how to access minitab? thank you!

I'm trying to apply to the UMass aeronautics team, however as a meche major they require me to submit sample projects from solidworks. Normally this wouldn't be an issue due to most engineering majors taking eng113 however I managed to skip it due to dual enrollment. Is they anyone I can contact about getting a student subscription to solidworks?

lmk

Looking for someone to takeover my lease when I graduate this semester. It’s a luxury apartment Included kitchen, laundry, Living space, TV and more. Few minutes away from campus. Rent is $800 monthly. Reach out quickly high demand housing! North 116 Apartment 4 person suite 2 bedrooms + 2 full baths

Do y’all think the calories in the dinning halls are actually accurate? I went to go get the pho today at Hamp and I’m trying to watch my intake so I looked at the nutrition sheet and the total amount for the bowl came down to like less than 200 and I’m finding that a bit hard to believe. Idk it seems like calorie amounts they put on the signs are a bit off and I was wondering if anyone else has noticed.

I want to volunteer more because I don’t have classes Tuesday and only a seminar Thursday, so far my homework’s been pretty light and I want to do something valuable with my time. I’d like to help people. Are there any volunteer clubs or organizations to volunteer at (ie a senior center) in Amherst or the area proper?

I have been told that different schools go more in depth and are more rigorous on subjects than others school to better prepare students in learning the skills needed to work in the respective fields of their major. I know that the students at Umass may not have the knowledge of other schools curriculum, but in terms of the curriculum at Umass Amherst, how hard or easy would you say it is in preparing students to work in the fields of their respective major?

Hi! I'm a transfer senior, been at umass for a year and a half. I have a lot of free time this semester between classes (I commute) , and was thinking about checking out the gym to kill time.

None of my friends have ever been inside , and I'm a little hesitant as i'm not sure if it's a space mostly occupied by those who play sports? I don't want to intrude on a sport-specific-zone haha. What's it like in there? Should I just stick to walking around campus to kill time? Thanks!

anyone know?
(its planned with a supervising professor, just some trouble registering it is happening, not sure if it will get sorted before the add/drop deadline)

Title. Want to be able to catch up without the extra stress. I am a CS major with little to no experience in math (despite it about to be my 3rd time taking Calculus). Any advise would be helpful!

Looking into the class - just wondering if anyone has any experience with it or the professor

Need some direction on how to find research opportunities outside UMass. I'm in my second year of graduate program and I don't see any promising independent studies coming up or any professor of my field of interest looking to take on masters students. I want to pursue PhD in the near future and masters was supposed to be a way to establish a profile for it. But unfortunately UMass CICS has not at all been a good place to do this. I am thinking that I should apply for research assistantship outside UMass by cold-email professors and I have following questions:

1 - Can I do RAship outside UMass while still in my last semester at UMass or do I need to wait until I completely graduate?

2 - Can RAship taken as CO-OP?

3 - How can I increase my chances in getting an RAship? Does focusing my efforts in Massachusetts universities help? Or should I just email all professors in my field of interest?

Anyone know anything about how hard they are with current professors? I’m fine with mathematics so the theory 515 shouldn’t be too bad

I’m just curious cause I’m taking a large load and need a class that isn’t too hard

HELP the wifi is TERRIBLE. i try to connect my pc to it and it either doesn’t even show up as a possibility to join or im finally able to connect and it says “no internet, secured” or i get 0-1 bar of wifi and it is so slow that it is impossible to even use. problems aren’t even on just my pc, i try to facetime someone and im disconnecting and lagging out of the call every minute. ive been using so much data because its so bad, and considering “wireless internet access” is one of the room features here, its annoying as hell that im not really getting that at all. i didn’t drag my pc all this way just to not be able to use it. does anyone know what i could do to get this fixed?

Has anyone else seen a middle-aged guy who usually is around Franklin, He's not creepy or anything just definitely is a little goofy/awkward

I remember seeing him the most around November of last year, he greeted me, and I greeted him back and said his name was something like "mac" or "e-mac"?

just wondering if anyone else knows him or has seen him before

Do we get a new assignment in the spring 2024?

as the title suggest I'm taking intro linear algebra and I wondering if I should purchase the one term version of the course or the 24 month. For any future linear algebra classes.

Anyone know of any private lessons offered on campus or around the area for guitar?