Dear readers,

Thank you for reading the Record’s first issue of 2023!

When I began writing for the Record in the fall of 2020, the newspaper — like many other organizations at the College — operated fully remotely due to COVID-19 restrictions. Covering the pandemic and its impact on our communities was chief among many writers and editors’ priorities, and past iterations of the Record editorial board consistently stepped up to that important responsibility.

As COVID policies have become less dynamic and restrictive, some elements of the Record’s operations have changed, while others have not.

Over the past few semesters, the Record has returned to print since it went online-only because of the pandemic; expanded its Race, Privilege, and Identity (RPI) reporting; and began diligent coverage of the Town, with an emphasis on the Williamstown Select Board and Williamstown Police Department. Amid these changes, however, our writers and editors have maintained and reaffirmed the Record’s commitment to producing fair, accurate, and meaningful stories and to uplifting many valuable voices across the College and the Town.

This semester, the 2023 editorial board hopes to uphold the Record’s long-standing initiatives and begin a few of our own. 

You may have noticed, in addition to the new names on our masthead, that our print edition is sporting a new layout. Featuring more visuals throughout its pages and accessible information about our podcast, online crossword, and social media accounts, we aim to further integrate our print sections with our visuals, podcast, website, and social media teams to make engaging with the Record a more cohesive experience.

Throughout the semester, you may also notice longer investigative pieces incorporating more data and archival materials on our print pages and website. At least six bias incidents were reported on our campus in 2022; in light of these events, we will continue to emphasize RPI reporting across all sections and seek to highlight injustices within our community.

We hope to produce timely, detailed, multi-part stories that highlight interesting and important niches of our community, but as a newspaper entirely run by full-time students, we may sometimes fall short of this goal. If you have thoughts about how we could improve our coverage, please contact me through our anonymous tip line or by email at [email protected]. 

Sincerely,

Ella Marx ’24

Editor-in-Chief